Happy 39th birthday to A.J. Burnett, who threw the Florida Marlins’ third no-hitter in their brief nine-year history in 2001. At Qualcomm Stadium on Saturday, May 12, 2001, Burnett no-hit the San Diego Padres for a 3-0 win despite facing 36 Padres batters. Burnett walked nine and broke Padres second-baseman Damian Jackson’s thumb by hitting…
Happy 53rd birthday to David Cone, a New York Mets fan favorite who threw a perfect game for the crosstown Yankees in 1999. On Sunday, July 18, 1999, in an interleague game in the Bronx, Cone shut down the Montreal Expos lineup for a 6-0 win, retiring every Expos batter he faced. It was “Yogi…
Happy New Year, and Happy 146th Birthday to Charles “Bumpus” Jones, who threw a no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds in his first major league appearance. Reds player-manager Charles Comiskey, who had watched Jones pitch well in an 1892 exhibition, gave Jones the opportunity to pitch Cincinnati’s final game of the ’92 season on Saturday, October…
Jim “Catfish” Hunter, who threw a perfect game for the Oakland Athletics in 1968, signed with the New York Yankees 41 years ago today. Hunter’s 5-year, $3.75 million dollar contract was unprecedented in its day, tripling what any other major league player was making. “With the Cat, we are World Champions,” A’s teammate Reggie Jackson…
A happy 80th birthday to Sandy Koufax, who tossed four no-hitters — one of them perfect — for the 1960s Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brooklyn-born southpaw pitched his no-nos in consecutive years from 1962-65, culminating with a perfecto over the Chicago Cubs in ’65. The Cubs played nearly 50 years until they were no-hit again,…
Gus Weyhing, who threw a no-hitter for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1888, was born 149 years ago today. At Philadelphia’s Jefferson Street Grounds on Tuesday, July 31, 1888, Weyhing no-hit the Kansas City Cowboys for a 4-0 American Association win. The Athletics played errorless ball — a rare feat in those days — and the…