The record (seven no-hitters in 1990 and 1991):
1991 - Nolan Ryan, Tommy Greene, Bob Milacki/Mike Flanagan/Mark Williamson/Gregg Olson, Dennis Martinez, Wilson Alvarez, Bret Saberhagen, Kent Mercker/Mark Wohlers/Alejandro Pena
1990 - Mark Langston/Mike Witt, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Dave Stewart, Fernando Valenzuela, Terry Mulholland, Dave Stieb
Although those were tough times for the Phils, they did get no-hitters in both seasons (Greene and Mulholland):
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| Tommy Greene's no hitter |
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| Currently on sale. |
Or if baseball cards aren't your thing, there is always the giant replica ticket of Mulholland's no-no:
Last year, I remember sportswriters saying that the number of no-hitters was some sort of proof that pitching was again reigning supreme. I don't know. No-hitters seem like pretty fluky things. I suppose you could say that pitchers like Verlander are more likely to pitch no-hitters, but you could also line up a bunch of Verlander archetypes (there probably aren't a whole lot because he's pretty good) who never had a no-hitter in their careers. Like I said, fluky things. And they shouldn't carry any weight in how we perceive a pitcher's career or even their season.
ReplyDeleteI just read Joe Posnanski's blog post about Verlander, and now I'm dying to hear everyone's opinion. Over/under .5 on the number of no-hitters Verlander throws over the rest of his career.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think no-hitters are treated with a reverence that they don't deserve (exhibit A: giant canvas replicas of game tickets). Was Liriano's performance that much different because Adam Dunn's line drive to end the game was right at SS instead of twenty feet to the left? Just because you need to be lucky, though, I don't know if it can be completely discounted. In support of that, here are the pitchers who have more than two no-hitters (there are thirty pitchers that have more than one):
ReplyDelete1. Nolan Ryan (7)
2. Sandy Koufax (4)
3. Cy Young (3)
4. Bob Feller (3)
5. Larry Corcoran (3)
Larry Corcoran is the only unfamiliar name and he deserves his own post.
On the over/under question - that's a tough one. If pressed, I would probably take the under. I just skimmed Joe's (rather lengthy) blog post. I'm not sure what the purpose of it was except to demonstrate his grasp of baseball history and point out that strikeout pitchers have a better chance of throwing no-no's because they are slightly less dependent on luck to get their 27 outs (if you assume the quality of the batted balls are the same for non-strikeout pitchers). That's certainly true, but also fairly obvious.
ReplyDeleteIt is probably obvious that strikeout pitchers are more likely to throw no-hitters, but even more obvious is that pitchers who pitch more games are more likely to throw more no-hitters. Cy Young and Nolan Ryan are 1,2 on the all-time leaders list for games started.
ReplyDeleteBut I've always thought longevity is the most underrated skill for baseball players. You can probably count on one hand the number of non-hall of famers who debuted as teenagers and played as 40 year olds.
I wonder if walks are just as good a predictor of no-hitters as strikeouts. Ryan and Feller are the only two 20th century players with 200BB seasons. Koufax walked over a 100 a few times in a season.
That's an interesting point. Not giving in on hitter's counts - whether due to temperament or inability - can only help your chances at a no-hitter. I would think that the number one skill needed for longevity is being really good so they keep handing you the ball.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even though offensive statistics the past two seasons have returned to early-1990s levels, the one thing 2011 has going against it in pursuit of the no-hit record is the reluctance of managers to take out pitchers who haven't allowed a hit. Two of the seven in 1991 were combined no-hitters with another one in 1990. Unless you have someone on a strict pitch count (young pitcher or pitcher returning from an injury), I think times have changed and managers are loathe to yank someone from the game if they haven't given up a hit. This reluctance probably reduces the number of no-hitters we would see otherwise.
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