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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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