MLB no-hitter trivia.

[SackAttack]

I had a pitcher throw a CG 1-hitter against Pittsburgh in OOTP 2007, and as it was the closest I've come with OOTP 2007, I figured I'd use the "write recap" feature to chronicle it. I started out by trying to see if the Pirates had ever been no-hit (by my count, in modern history, it has happened three times - the most recent by Bob Gibson).

While trying to find that information, though, I found a handful of other no-hitter oddities that fascinated me. Most fans knowledgeable about the history of the sport know that Johnny Van Der Meer threw no-hitters in consecutive starts, but here's some stuff I didn't know:

* For the purposes of this trivia tidbit, consider the American and National Leagues as completely separate entities for the purposes of continuity; that said, only once since the American League began play has any team in either league been the victim in three consecutive no-hitters within that league: the Boston Braves in 1944, 1946 and 1947.

* The New York Giants snapped the Braves' string by getting no-hit by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, but that game was the only National League no-hitter between 1944 and 1951 that didn't involve the Braves. There were a total of seven no-hitters thrown in that span, an astonishing six either by or against the Braves.

* The Braves started that string by no-hitting the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 27, 1944. Just 18 days later, they found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 no-hitter by the Cincinnati Reds.

* That's not the shortest penthouse-to-doghouse turnaround in baseball history, though. Gaylord Perry no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals, 1-0, on Sept. 17, 1968. The very next day, Ray Washburn returned the favor, no-hitting the Giants, 2-0. What that means is that the Giants hold the record for a fall from grace in this category, while the Cardinals hold the record for going the other way. Serendipity!

* The Philadelphia Phillies are the only team in National League history to get no-hit twice in a season by the same team, dropping games to the Milwaukee Braves on August 18 and September 16 of the 1960 campaign.

* Over in the American League, not only did the White Sox get no-hit twice in the 1917 season by the St. Louis Browns...they managed to do it twice in two days. The saving grace? The second one came on the back end of a doubleheader on May 6, 1917, giving them technically two no-hitters in three games.

* The Philadelphia A's managed to get no-hit on September 4 and 7 of 1923, by the Yankees and Red Sox, respectively. I can't decide if that's more or less impressive.

* Back to NL-specific records, the Cubs, haven't been the best at much of anything but losing in a long, long time, but in the "dubious honors" category, they got no-hit twice in three weeks, with Jim Maloney of the Reds tossing a 10-inning gem on August 19, 1965 and Sandy Koufax throwing his perfect game on September 9.

* They weren't even the best in the NL at that. The Reds bested that mark with 20 days passing between no-hitters. Cubs got 'em on June 3, 1971 and the Phillies bookended that on June 23.

I know none of this is likely all that interesting to anybody but me, but I thought I'd share all the same.

[DaddyTorgo]

hey I think it's interesting. It'll come in handy in trivia contests too.

[EagleFan]

* Multiple no-hitters have been thrown on the same day twice: Ted Breitenstein no hit the Pirates and Jim Hughes no hit the Braves on April 22, 1898; and Dave Stewart no hit the Blues Jays and Fernando Valenzuela no hit the Cardinals on June 29, 1990.

* Babe Ruth was part of the first ever combined no hitter. He was ejected after arguing with the umpire after walking the first batter of the game. After Ernie Shore replaced him the runner was caught stealing and Shore retired the remaining 26 batters consecutively to complete the no hitter.

* Bobbo Holloman pitched a no hitter in his first major league start in 1953. He would go on to win a grand total of 3 games in the majors, a "modern era" fluke.

* Fred Toney of the Cubs and Hippo Vaughn of the Reds both thres 9 innings of no hit ball against each other only to see Toney's no hitter broken up in the 10th by the Reds as they would score the winning run. Vaughn, hoiwever, completed his no hitter sinishing the 10th.

* Sandy Kaufax pitched a perfect game against the Cubs in 1965 and beat Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley 1-0. Hendly threw a one hitter (ironically the hit was not involved in the run).

* Harvey Haddix of the Pirates pitched 12 inning of perfect baseball in 1959 against the Braves before losing the perfect game, no hitter and the game in the 13th.

* Umpire Silk O'Loughlin was behind the plate an MLB leading 6 times for a no hitters between 1905 and 1917. Bill Dineen, ironically a pitcher when he played, was behind the plate for 5.

* Dick Nallin was behind the plate for no hitters in consecutive days on 5/6 and 5/6 in 1917.

* In 1892 Bumpus Jones pitched a no hitter in his major league debut. That was his only game of the season and he finished his career with a 2-4 record (career ERA 7.99). The all-time fluke.

* The Phillies went the longest span of 57 season between no hitters (Go Phils ).

[stevew]

What about random guys that sucked that threw no-no's?

I know Bud Smith is out there....he basically had one season in the bigs w/ a no hitter, a career total of 130 some innings.

Guys that throw a no-hitter and lose are also amazing.

And then you have weird shit, like Clemens striking out 20 guys, and still giving up 3 hits. You'd think with that type of dominant performance, he would have thrown a no-no.