Some No-hitter context

 Corey Kluber just threw the seventh no-hitter of 2021 (yes, I’m including Madison Bumgarner “unofficial” seven inning no-no) in the majors and it’s only May 19^th.

For some reason, the amount of no hitters already is throwing up red flags for me instead of filling me with unexplainable joy. I’m extremely happy for every guy who has put himself in the history books so far in 2021, but a large part of me wants to renationalize what I’m seeing (I know, I KNOW, I should just shut my mouth and enjoy the games) because the type of history we are seeing doesn’t happen. According to the Elias Sports Bureau the last time that there was more than seven no hitters in a year was 1884. In the modern era (since 1900) there has been seven no hitters thrown in five seasons (1990, 1991, 2012, and 2015, and 2019). What we are witnessing right now is unchartered waters. History is being made nightly and maybe we are all victims of the moment.

Maybe because the league changed the ball at the beginning of the year to try to increase offensive production from inside the yard, or because the league said they would be tracking pitchers spin rates to see if there was an increase in spin that could be linked to illegal substances at use, or the fact that there was studies being done to see if the mound could safely be moved back. Maybe that is making everyone subjective to the history that should be being celebrated as a one off and not the norm.

Just to be as certain as we can be however, let’s take a look at those five years that seven no hitters were thrown plus “the year of the pitcher” in 1968:

1968

During “the year of the pitcher” there was five no hitters thrown by: Tom Phoebus, Catfish Hunter (perfect game), George Culver, Gaylord Perry, and Ray Washburn.

Phoebus had three walks, nine strike outs, and no errors in a 6-0 win.

Catfish Hunter when he threw his perfect game had three hits, knocked in three of the four runs in the game, and had 11 strike outs. Not only is that my new favorite baseball stat of all-time, that’s complete ownership of the day!

Culver in his no hitter the Reds committed three errors, he walked five batters, stroke out four, and gave up a run in a 6-1 win.

Gaylord Perry struck out nine, walked two, and no errors were committed.

Ray Washburn faced a lineup with Willie Mays and Willie McCovey, Washburn walked five batters and struck out eight. For all the no hitters no pitch data was recorded on Baseball-Reference.

1990

The seven no hitters thrown in 1990 were thrown by: Mark Langston and Mike Witt (combined no-hitter), Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Dave Stewart, Fernando Valenzuela, Terry Mulholland, and Dave Steib.

In the Langston-Witt no-hitter Mark Langston went seven innings striking out three, walking four, threw 99 pitches, Mitt Witt threw two innings on 27 pitches, with two strike outs, one error was recorded in the game. The Seattle team that took the field against the no hitting duo featured Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez.

Randy Johnson threw 138 pitches in his no hitter with eight strike outs, six walks, and the Mariners behind him committed one error.

Nolan Ryan had 14 strike outs (go figure) on 130 pitches, two walks, and the Rangers also committed an error in the field.

Dave Stewart channeled his best Nolan Ryan impression striking out 12, walking three, throwing 115 pitches, with a clean effort from Toronto behind him.

Fernando-Mania had the Dodgers commit an error, while he threw seven strike outs, three walks, on 119 pitches.

Terry Mulholland had eight k’s, one error behind him in the field, on only 105 pitches, and faced the minimum.

Dave Steib had no errors behind him, struck out nine, and walked four on 121 pitches.

1991

1991’s no-hitters were thrown by: Nolan Ryan, Tommy Greene, a combined no-hitter from Bob Milacki, Gregg Olson, Mark Williamson, and Mike Flanagan, a perfect game by Dennis Martinez, another combined no-no this time from Mark Wohlers, Kent Mercker, and Alejandro Pena, Wilson Alvarez, and Brett Saberhagen.

Nolan Ryan’s second no-hitter in as many years was 121 pitchers (nine fewer pitchers than the year prior), 16 strike outs (yeah, the fact he recorded more k’s and threw less pitches didn’t make sense to me either), walked two batters, and the Rangers booted a ball in the field.

Tommy Greene had 10 strike outs, seven walks, with 130 pitches, and no errors.

The first combined no-hitter of the year from Milacki, Olson, Williamson, and Flanagan was 121 pitches long, Milacki walked three and struck out three, Olson had two walks as well, and the defense behind the four men was flawless.

Dennis Martinez was perfect on July 28^th, 1991 with five punch outs, on 96 pitches, and went one for three at the dish.

In the Wohlers, Mercker, Pena combined no-hitter; Wohlers walked two, stroke out six, while Mercker and Pena threw 15 and 12 pitches respectively allowing the defense behind them to help finish the job. This no-hitter was 108 pitches combined and that defense that the three men relied on did commit an error.

Alverez had seven punch outs, five walks, 128 pitches, and one error committed behind him.

Brett Saberhagen had five strike outs, two walks, an error behind him, and 114 pitches thrown.

2012

The 12 men who edged their names into the history books in 2012 were Philip Humber, Jered Weaver, Johan Santana, a combined no-hitter Kevin Milwood, Brandon League, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor, Lucas Luetgue, and Tom Wilhelmsen, Matt Cain, Felix Hernandez, and Homer Bailey.

Humber faced the minimum 27 against Seattle with nine strike outs, 96 pitches, and the only blemish was a Gordon Becknam hit by pitch in the 4^th inning.

Next up was Jered Weaver who only had two “mistakes” in his no-hitter walking one, and thanks to a dropped third strike against Chris Parmlee in the second inning. Weaver threw 121 pitches.

Johan Santana recorded the first and only no-hitter for the New York Mets throwing 134 pitches, striking out eight, and five walks.

Next up was the combined no-hitter for the Seattle Mariners that featured Kevin Milwood going six innings striking out six, walking one batter on 68 pitches, Luetgue and Pyror both recording just one out on three and 15 pitches respectively. Pyror walked two batters and the out recorded was a strike out. League and Furbush both recorded two outs in the game, both had a strike out each, and threw 10 and nine pitches respectively. Tom Wilhelmsen finished it off with a nine-pitch 9^th inning getting the save.

Matt Cain’s no-hitter was a day with perfection striking out 14, throwing 125 pitches, and went one for three and scored a run in the game.

Felix Hernandez also had a perfect game along with Matt Cain, King Felix had 12 strike outs, 113 pitches, and won the game 1-0.

Homer Bailey only suffered one walk against Pittsburgh for his 10 strike out no-hitter on 115 pitches.

2015

The last year of this little case study saw six men join the history books: Chris Heston, Cole Hamels, Hisashi Iwakuma, Mike Fiers, Max Scherzer, and Jake Arrieta

Chris Heston was first up in 2015 against the Mets he tossed 110 pitches, struck out 11, and hit three batters (Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda, and Anthony Recker)—talk about a wild no hitter!

Max Scherzer was a Jose Tabata hit-by-pitch away from perfection in a 10 strike out no-hitter against Pittsburgh on 106 pitches.

Cole Hamels added to his Hall of Fame candidacy with a 13 strike out, two-walk, 129-pitch no hitter.

Hisashi Iwakuma had seven k’s three walks, and 116 pitches in his no-hitter.

Before he ousted the biggest cheating scandal in the modern era, Mike Fiers had a 10 punch out, three-walk, 134-pitch no hitter against the Dodgers.

Jake Arrieta would throw 116 pitches, had one walk, 12 strike outs, and a sure handed Cub defense was human on August 30^th, 2015 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

Max Scherzer threw his second no-hitter of the season (which is absolutely insane) against the Mets as he struck out 17 Mets with one error behind him, on 109 pitches on the second to last day of the season in 2015.

 

 Now, you might me asking, why did I just list out every pitchers line who has recorded no hitters in those six years, it’s to compare them to the no hitters we are seeing now. Not to just see that the combine no-hitter is happening less often (every no-hitter so far this year has been completed by one guy), or see the difference in the amount of pitches thrown in 1968 or 1990 to now, it’s to see if this is truly a one off, and not going to continue to happen. To put the history we are seeing into context with the rest of the history of the game—and channel some childish joy looking at the old box scores learning about the history of baseball.

My conclusion with all of this is that I believe we are all victims of the moment and this will not continue to happen. Sure, 2021 may see 18 no hitters through the entirety of the season and shatter all the records. I hope after you’re done combing through this piece that you agree with me, turn off your brain, and enjoy the game! Even though no hitters are being thrown daily at this point, this doesn’t happen every day. Whether baseball changes the rules or not, maybe the mound does get moved back, no hitters will always be a part of the game. It’s a magical moment for a pitcher and his catcher, celebrate the greatness of the day, and look for the historical context when the winter snow has covered up the fields, not in the moment.