Although the New York Mets didn’t get their first no-hitter until 2012, the team has been the victim of eight of them throughout its existence. Sandy Koufax, Jim Bunning, Bob Moose, Bill Stoneman, Ed Halicki, Darryl Kile, Chris Heston and Max Scherzer have all thrown no-nos against the Mets.
| 1 | Sandy Koufax |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) | |
| Saturday, June 30, 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers 5, New York Mets 0 Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) (His first of four no-hitters) |
OK, so the 1962 New York Mets’ lineup wasn’t the most talented of all time (in fact the squad’s 120 losses remain a Major League record), but throwing a no-hitter against any team is still an accomplishment – even for an eventual Hall of Famer.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Sandy Koufax struck out the side in the top of the first in this June 30, 1962 Dodger Stadium matchup, but things really started going south for the Mets in the bottom half of the inning.
Starter Bob L. Miller (we use the initial because he was one of two Bob Millers in the Mets’ starting rotation) lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits, helping to set the stage for one of Koufax’s four career no-hitters.
Koufax would go on to strike out a total of 13 batters while walking 3.
Click here for Vin Scully’s radio call of the game.
| 2 | Jim Bunning |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia Phillies (NL) | |
 Sunday, June 21, 1964 (First game of doubleheader)Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 0 Shea Stadium (New York) (Perfect game, his second of two no-hitters; it ended a 58-year, 1-month, 18-day no-hitter drought for the Phillies, still the longest team drought for any franchise.) |
I doubt when Mets fan dads headed out to Shea Stadium to watch this Fathers’ Day contest, they thought they’d be glad to witness a New York Mets loss. But how many times in your life do you get to witness a perfect game?
Sure, it would have been nice if the Mets’ Tracy Stallard was up to the challenge, but it was the Philadelphia Phillies’ Jim Bunning that would accomplish the amazing feat.
Bunning struck out 10, with the 10th coming in the bottom of the 9th against pinch-hitter John Stephenson – the 27th straight batter he retired.
Shea Stadium earned a perfect game in just its 31st game of its history. It would not happen again.
According to The Baseball Almanac, Bunning threw 90 pitches during the game, and 79 of those were strikes. Wow.
| 3 | Bob Moose |
|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Pirates (NL) | |
| Saturday, September 20, 1969 Pittsburgh Pirates 4, New York Mets 0 Shea Stadium (New York) |
The Mets were deep in a pennant race with their eyes set on winning the National League East on Sept. 20, 1969 when Bob Moose took the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Moose held the Mets hitless, walking three batters while striking out six en route to no-hitting the eventual World Champions. The only real scare came in the sixth inning, when the legendary Roberto Clemente saved the day with a one-handed catch of a liner hit by Wayne Garrett.
The Mets would bounce back well from the no-no loss, winning their next nine games.
| 4 | Bill Stoneman |
|---|---|
| Montreal Expos (NL) | |
| Monday, October 2, 1972 (First game of doubleheader) Montreal Expos 7, New York Mets 0 Parc Jarry (Montreal) (His second of two no-hitters) |
When Bill Stoneman took the mound at Montreal’s Jarry Park on Oct. 2, 1972, he already had one no-hitter under his belt. (Stoneman in ’69 had tossed a 7-0 no-hitter for the Expos against the Phililes.)
Stoneman’s no-no against the Mets was the first ever pitched outside the United States. The right-hander struck out nine during the game, but he walked seven and mishandled a grounder for an error.
“I wouldn’t say my control was very sharp that day,” Stoneman wrote in a 2005 article for Baseball Digest.
| 5 | Ed Halicki |
|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants (NL) | |
| Sunday, August 24, 1975 (Second game of doubleheader) San Francisco Giants 6, New York Mets 0 Candlestick Park (San Francisco) |
The Mets actually had 12 hits the day that San Francisco Giants pitcher El Halicki hurled his no-hitter against the team.
Unfortunately, all 12 hits came in the first game of the doubleheader at Candlestick Park. The Mets won the opener 9-5, thanks in part to a fifth-inning Grand Slam by Dave Kingman.
Halicki struck out 10 and walked 2 in the nightcap, which turned a bit controversial in the fifth inning when the Mets’ Rusty Staub hit a line drive up the middle.
The ball ricocheted off of Halicki’ shin and rolled to second baseman Derrel Thomas. Thomas bobbled it before throwing to first, allowing the far-from-fleet-footed Grande L’Orange to beat the throw. The official scorer received cheers when he ruled the play an E4, a call that New York Daily News columnist Dick Young took issue with. Halicki has since said he thought the call was correct.
| 6 | Darryl Kile |
|---|---|
| Houston Astros (NL) | |
| Wednesday, September 8, 1993 Houston Astros 7, New York Mets 1 Astrodome (Houston) |
Darryl Kile, who tragically died of heart trouble in 2002 while he was with the St. Louis Cardinals, pitched a no-hitter against the Mets in 1993 when he was wearing a Houston Astros uniform.
Kile struck out nine while walking one in the game. He had retired the first 10 Mets batters, but the Mets got a run in the fourth thanks to a walk followed by an Astros defensive breakdown.
After walking Jeff McKnight, Kile threw a wild pitch, which catcher Scott Servais thought hit Joe Orsulak on the foot. It didn’t, and as McKnight ran to third, first baseman Jeff Bagwell grabbed the ball and threw it off-line, allowing McKnight to score.
| 7 | Chris Heston |
|---|---|
| San Francisco Giants (NL) | |
| Tuesday, June 9, 2015 San Francisco Giants 5, New York Mets 0 Citi Field (New York) |
Chris Heston, a 27-year-old rookie right-hander, struck out 11 batters and did not allow a walk to no-hit the Mets at Citi Field, the first thrown at the park since Johan Santana’s 2012 no-no.
Heston hit three batters, including one in the ninth inning. He also contributed at the plate with a pair of RBIs while going 2-for-4.
| 8 | Max Scherzer |
|---|---|
| Washington Nationals (NL) | |
| Saturday, October 3, 2015 (second game of doubleheader) Washington Nationals 2, New York Mets 0 Citi Field (New York) |
On October 3, 2015, during the second game of a doubleheader, the Washington Nationals’ Max Scherzer threw his second no-hitter of the season, stifling the New York Mets’ offense for a 2-0 win at Citi Field.
Scherzer was throwing a perfect game until the sixth inning, when third baseman Yunel Escobar threw wild to first base for an error. Scherzer also tied Nolan Ryan’s record for most strikeouts in a no-hitter with 17. Ryan set the mark during his second no-hitter as a member of the California Angels on Sunday, July 15, 1973, against the Tigers.
The #Mets have fallen victim to a #nohitter on six occasions. Here they are: http://t.co/BHUrxjg5sc
I was at Shea for the only two no-hitters pitched there — the Bunning perfecto and the Moose gem.
But I have no proof, no ticket stubs. So you have to take my word for it — or not. Makes no difference to me. 🙂
Yet I just can’t help but wonder if anyone else now alive was there for both. The Met announcers back then — Kiner, Murphy, and Nelson — are all deceased.
Do players count? Because Eddie Kranepool played in both games for the Mets.
I was there for the not hitter b Moose. Only one I ever saw. I was a kid and was sad we lost but later in life realized how lucky I was to see one live. When you are a Mets fan you suffer yearl. But when the win it is so much sweeter than other could ever know.