Nolan Ryan Ties Bob Feller April 26, 1990

On This Day in Baseball History April 26, 1990: Nolan Ryan ties Bob Feller's major league record of 12 one-hitters as the Texas Rangers defeated the Chicago White Sox 1-0. Ryan struck out 16 batters while allowing a second inning single to Ron Kittle.

Ryan would finish his Hall of Fame Career with 7 no-hitters, 12 one-hitters and 18 two-hitters.

And that is considering that Ryan was a power pitcher well into his 40's. I don't think we'll see another dominant power pitcher reach the lofty heights that Nolan Ryan reached amidst the specialized pitching system that seems to be part of MLB these days.  But, then again...you never know.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Nolan Ryan's career statistics from Baseball Reference
- Click Here to access Bob Feller's career statistics from Baseball Reference

Sandy Koufax Becomes The First Pitcher to Throw 4 No-Hitters September 9, 1965

On this day in Baseball History September 9, 1965: In front of a small crowd of 29,135 fans at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, Sandy Koufax throws a perfect game against the Chicago Cubs becoming the first pitcher to throw four no-hitters in the Major League Baseball History. Koufax threw no-hitters in four consecutive season: June 30, 1962 against the New York Mets 5-0, May 11, 1963 against the San Francisco Giants 8-0, June 4, 1964 against the Philadelphia Phillies 3-0 and the perfect game against the Cubs 1-0. Here is the box score for the perfect game against the Chicago Cubs from the September 10, 1965 edition of the New York Times.

In achieving his fourth no-hitter, Koufax passed Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians who threw no-hitters in 1940, 1946 and 1950. Cy Young threw a no-hitter in 1987 of the then National League Cleveland team and for the Boston Red Sox 1901 and 1908.  Larry Corcoran of the Chicago Cubs threw no-hitters in 1880, 1882 and 1884. Koufax's record would stand until September 26, 1981 when Nolan Ryan of the Houston Astros would throw his fifth of his record setting seven no-hitters against the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Houston Astrodome.

The book "Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy" by Jane Leavy weaves the biography of Koufax's live in between chapters that focuses on this game from the perspective of fans at the game, those listening at home and from players at the game from both teams. I would highly recommend to not only read about this game but to learn more about Sandy Koufax who is a very private person and is very hesitant to let too many people in his personal life.

What made the feat even more amazing was that Koufax was laboring with a left arm that would hurt him so much during the season, that he would retire after the 1966 season. Koufax would strike out 14 Cub batters to give him a league high 332 strikeouts. Koufax would finish the season with a league high 382 strikeouts. That puts Koufax as ninth All-Time in single season strikeouts and only second behind Nolan Ryan when not counting the dead-ball era pitchers on the list.

Here is the top ten pitchers on the single season strikeout list (age in parenthesis):

1. 513 Matt Kilroy (20) Lefty 1886
2. 499 Toad Ramsey (21) Lefty 1886
3. 483 Hugh Daily (36) Righty 1884
4. 451 Dupee Shaw (25) Lefty 1884
5. 441 Old Hoss Radbourn (29) Righty 1884
6. 417 Charlie Buffinton (23) Righty 1884
7. 385 Guy Hecker (28) Righty 1884
8. 383 Nolan Ryan (26) Righty 1973
9. 382 Sandy Koufax (29) Lefty 1965
10. 374 Bill Sweeney (26) Righty 1884

Koufax would finish the 1965 season with a record of 26-8 with a 2.04 ERA with 27 complete games in 41 games started and the aforementioned 382 strikeout with 71 walks and 216 hits allowed for a WHIP of 0.855. Koufax would unanimously win his second of three Cy Young Award trophies. That in itself is an amazing achievement since only ONE award was given to the best pitcher of BOTH leagues combined until the year 1967. For the 1967 season, there was an award given to one American League pitcher and one National League pitcher.

As I mentioned above, Koufax would retire after the 1966 season and would be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 with 86.7% of the vote (344/396 ballots). That is also an amazing achievement as Leavy's book mentions in detail, Koufax had his troubles with control while playing for the Dodgers in Brooklyn. It wasn't until the team moved and was playing in Los Angeles for a few years, that something seemed to click for Koufax. His last six of a total of eleven seasons, from 1961-1966 were simply amazing. Here are his statistics from that period courtesy of Baseball Reference.com

What I find amazing is that the three no-hitter level has only been populated by five players in over 150 years of Professional Baseball. Homer Bailey, Tim Lincecum and Justin Verlander all have two no-hitters each. Can either one of those players make history and join Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Jim Corcoran, Bob Feller and Cy Young with three no-hitters? Time will tell for Bailey, Lincecum and Verlander if they can join this exclusive club.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to access Sandy Koufax's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access the No Hitter Records page from Baseball Almanac.com

J.R. Richard Strikes Out 15 Giants in his Debut September 5, 1971

On this day in Baseball History September 5, 1971: Getting the call up from AAA Oklahoma City 89ers, 21-year old James Rodney Richard aka J.R. Richard makes his debut for the Houston Astros against the San Francisco Giants. Richard threw a 1-0 complete game shutout at Candlestick Park, where he struck out 15 Giants. Richard tied Brooklyn Dodgers starter Karl Spooner's record for strikeouts in a debut for a starting pitcher (09-22-1954). Here is the rundown and box score for Richard's debut game from the September 6, 1971 edition of the New York Times.

At 6'8" and 220 pounds, Richard was an intimidating figure on the mound. Richard would lead the National League in strikeouts in 1978 with 303 strikeouts and 1979 with 313. Imagine the excitement of the Astros fans when fellow fireballer Nolan Ryan was signed by Houston for the 1980 season. But the anticipated record setting strikeouts by Ryan and Richard never came to be.

J.R. Richard and Nolan Ryan

Richard would suffer from a life threatening strokes that required surgery to save his life. Richard would hit the proverbial "rock-bottom" in both his career and personal life after he was released by the Astros in 1984. Luckily, Richard was able to find his way through the help of  Reverend Floyd Lewis of the New Testament Church of South Houston. Richard would finish with a 107-71 career record and 1,493 strikeouts.

Here is footage of J.R. Richard in his only All-Star appearance in 1980:

I have to say, that the little limited action I got to see of Richard (either on This Week in Baseball or the occasional Game of the Week broadcast) was downright impressive. Its sad to think about where his career could of ended up had it not been derailed by health issues. At least there is a happy ending to the story, with Richard being healthy and back on his feet. Will Richard ever get his wish of getting his number 50 retired by the Astros? We'll have to wait and see.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle

For Further Reading:
- Click here to access J.R. Richard's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click here to access the article entitled From Unhittable to Homeless: The J.R. Richard Story By Blaine Spence from Bleacher Report dated July 14, 2009
- Click here to access the article J.R. Richard appreciates Astros honor but wants more by Zachary Levine from the Ultimate Astros Blog Page from the Houston Chronicle dated May 31, 2012

A Trio of Baseball Highlights on August 29

There were a few things of note that happened in Baseball History on August 29th.

August 29, 1972

San Francisco Giants pitcher Jim Barr retires the first 20 batters he faces in St. Louis against the Cardinals after he had retired the last 21 he retired in his last start against the Pittsburgh Pirates at San Francisco's Candlestick Park for a then major league (Mark Buerhle retired 45 in 2009) and until recently a National League record 41 in a row. Ironically, both the National League and the Major League records for consecutive retired batters in a row was just broken yesterday by Giants starter Yusmeiro Petit who retired 46 consecutive batters before allowing a hit.

For Further Reading:

• Click Here to access Jim Barr's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
• Jim Barr responds to Yusmeiro Petit breaking his record — former SF Giants’ pitcher: ‘I can’t rest on my laurels anymore’ by Mike Shea from the Shea Hey blogpage from the SFGate website dated August 28, 2014

August 29, 1977

Since I seem to have mentioned St Louis Cardinals speedster Lou Brock as of late, on today's date in 1977, Brock passed Hall of Famer Ty Cobb's 49-year-old career stolen bases record which stood at 893 in a 4-3 loss against the San Diego Padres in San Diego. Brock would finish his career with 938 stolen bases over an 18-year career and would be the All-Time stolen base king until Rickey Henderson would break his record on May 1, 1991.

For Further Reading:

• Click Here to access Lou Brock's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
• Lou Brock Passes Cobb from The Spokesman Review August 30, 1977 Page 19 from the Google News website 

August 29, 1987

Staying with another player that I have seemed to be writing about as of late, Nolan Ryan passes the 200-strikeout barrier for a record 11th time. Ryan set the record for the Houston Astros in a 7-strikeout game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh. Ryan would have another four 200+ strikeout seasons and set the bar at 15 seasons (Angels 7/Astros 5/Rangers 3) with 200+ strikeouts. Out of those 15 seasons, Ryan led the league in strikeouts 11 times. Roger Clemens with 11 and Tom Seaver with 10 are next on the list.

For Further Reading:

• Click Here to access Nolan Ryan's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
• Click Here to access the Strikeout Records page from Baseball Almanac.com

Well, these are three events in Baseball History out of probably an unlimited amount of events. As I keep coming across them, I'll keep posting them.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,

Baseball Sisco

#baseballsisco

#baseballsiscokidstyle

Nolan Ryan Strikeouts Out his 5,000 batter August 22, 1989

On this day in Baseball History August 22, 1989: Nolan Ryan of the Texas Rangers becomes the first pitcher in major league history to register 5,000 career strikeouts.

His victim was fellow future Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson of the Oakland Athletics who struck out in the top of the 5th inning. Ryan would finish the game with 13-strikeouts in a 2-0 loss. 

Ryan would go finish his career with a total of 5,714 strikeouts. Randy Johnson is next on the list with 4,875 strikeouts.

For video footage on Nolan Ryan reaching the 5000 strikeout plateau:

For Further Reading:

- Click Here to access the article 5, 000 K's for Ryan; Stadium erupts as he gets historic strikeout by Tracy Ringsolsby of the Dallas Morning News dated August 23, 1989

- Click Here to access the article Dissecting Nolan Ryan's One-of-a-Kind Legacy, 25 Years After 5,000th Strikeout By Zachary D. Rymer from the Bleacher Report website dated August 22, 2014

- Click Here to see Nolan Ryan's Strikeout Miletones

Nolan Ryan Wins His 300th Game July 31, 1990

On this day in Baseball History July 31, 1990: Nolan Ryan earned the 300th win of his career as the Rangers defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 11-3 in front of 51,533 supporting fans at Milwaukee County Stadium. Ryan pitched 7.2 innings, striking out 8, walking 2 and giving up 6 hits. He was pulled after 146 pitches. Amazing. This made Ryan just the 20th player in history to reach the 300th win plateau.

Here is the list of the other 19 300-game winners at the time Ryan joined the club (in the order in which they reached the plateau):

1. 1888 Pud Calvin
2. 1890 Tim Keefe
3. 1890 Mickey Welch
4. 1891 Charles Radbourne
5. 1892 John Clarkson
6. 1900 Kid Nichols
7. 1901 Cy Young
8. 1912 Christy Mathewson
9. 1915 Ed Plank
10. 1920 Walter Johnson
11. 1924 Grover Alexander
12. 1941 Lefty Grove
13. 1961 Warren Spahn
14. 1963 Early Wynne
15. 1982 Gaylord Perry
16. 1983 Steve Carlton
17. 1985 Tom Seaver
18. 1985 Phil Niekro
19. 1986 Don Sutton

Here is some footage of Ryan winning his 300th game:

On a side note, does anyone out there remember The National Sports Daily aka The National? I remember the fanfare when Editor-in-Chief Frank Deford started publishing this sports newspaper. It just didn't last.

Until Then Keep Playing Ball,
Baseball Sisco
#baseballsisco
#baseballsiscokidstyle


For Further Reading:
- Click here for the box score for Nolan Ryan's 300th win against the Milwaukee Brewers July 31, 1990 from Baseball Reference.com

Five Pitchers With Two No-Hitters in One Season

I started writing this post the week that Virgil Trucks passed away at the age of 95 and as usual life has a way of interrupting the creative process. So here I go trying to finish the post.

Aside from having a cool name, Trucks had the distinction of being only one of five pitchers to have thrown two no-hitters during the same season. With this post, I wanted to profile all five pitchers who accomplished that feat. You'll see that I didn't go about it in chronological order. I did so in the order in which i found the achievement to be most impressive.

- Virgil Trucks 1952

Trucks pitched his entire 17-year career in the American League and complied a 177-135 record with a 3.39 ERA. In 1952, Trucks threw his first no-hitter of the season with a 1-0 victory against the Washington Senators on May 15, 1952. The second no-hitter was another 1-0 victory this time on the road against the Yankees on August 25, 1952. This would be the last time the New York Yankees were no-hit at home by one pitcher (The Yankees were no-hit by the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium on June 11, 2003 by six pitchers). Trucks would be a 2-time All-Star and helped the Detroit Tigers win the 1945 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. He was the third pitcher to throw two no-hitters in one season.

- Click Here to Access Virgil Trucks' Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com

- Allie Reynolds 1951

Reynolds pitched for 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees and compiled a 182-107 record with a 3.30 ERA. In 1951, Reynolds threw his first no-hitter of the season with a 1-0 victory against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. He would again throw a no-hitter at home this time on September 28, 1951 with an 8-0 victory against the Boston Red Sox. Reynolds was a mainstay of the Yankees teams from the "Golden Age of New York City Baseball" by appearing in six World Series (1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953) and going 7-2 with 2 shutouts and 4 saves in 15 World Series games. Reynolds would be the second pitcher to throw two no-hitters in one season.

- Click Here to Access Allie Reynolds' Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com

- Roy Halladay 2010

Halladay is the only active pitcher on this list. Through 16 seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and the Philadelphia Phillies, Halladay is 199-101 with a 3.32 ERA. Halladay has the distinction of throwing one of being the only pitcher on this list to throw one of two no-hitters in the same season during the post-season. On May 29, 2010 Halladay threw a perfect game against the Florida Marlins for a 1-0 victory on the road. His second no-hitter of the season came during Game 1 of the National League Divisional Series in Philadelphia on October 6, 2010. Halladay no-hit the Cincinnati Reds for a 4-0 victory. This was the first no-hitter ever thrown at Citizens Bank Park. Halladay is a 7-time All-Star and is a 2-time winner of the Cy Young Award and one of five pitchers to win both the American League and National League Cy Young Awards (Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Gaylord Perry). Halladay is the fifth pitcher to throw two no-hitters in one season.

- Click Here to Access Roy Halladay's Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com


- Nolan Ryan 1973

Ryan is the only Hall of Famer on this list. Ryan pitched for 27 years and compiled a 324-292 career record with a 3.19 ERA and is the Major league leader in Strikeouts with 5714. Ryan also leads the majors in career walks with 2795 and has the most no-hitters with seven. On May 15, 1973, Ryan no-hit the Kansas City Royals 3-0 for his first ever no-hitter at Royals Stadium. Two months later on July 15, 1973, Ryan would no-hit the Detroit Tigers for a 6-0 victory at Tigers Stadium. In his next start Ryan was throwing a seven inning perfect game against the Baltimore Orioles coming the closest to tying the record for consecutive no-hitters since a Johnny Vander Meer did it in 1938. Ryan was a 6-time All-Star. Ryan was the fourth pitcher to throw two no-hitters in one season.

- Click Here to Access Nolan Ryan's Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com

- Johnny Vander Meer 1938

Vander Meer is the first pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a season AND the only pitcher on this list to have thrown back-to-back no-hitters. During his first full season, Vander Meer threw his first no hitter for the Cincinnati Reds against the Boston Bees at Crosley Field. In his next start, against the Brooklyn Dodgers at the first night game at Ebbets Field, Vander Meer no-hit the Dodgers for the distinction of being the only pitcher to throw back-to-back no hitters. Vander Meer would finish with a 119-121 career record with a 3.44 ERA and was a 4-time All Star.

- Click Here to Access Johnny Vander Meer's Career Statistics from Baseball Reference.com

So there you have it folks. I believe that Vander Meer's record of back-to-back no hitters might be one of those records that might never be broken...ever. 

Sisco Kid

Another Ex-Mets Pitcher Throws a No-No/Perfecto

I got up from my Pre-work nap to discover that Chicago White Sox starter Phil Humber was into the 9th inning against the Seattle Mariners: throwing a Perfect game. Mind you, there have only been 20 perfectos in Baseball. Humber was on the cusp of joining an illustrious club. After Humber retired the 27th batter he faced and i stood there watching the White Sox players celebrating on the diamond at Safeco Field something else came to mind.

Aside from becoming the 21st member of the Perfect Game Club, Humber also joined another club. This club is made up of pitchers who threw either a no hitter or a perfect game after leaving the New York Mets. The irony is that the New York Mets (Along with the San Diego Padres) are the only MLB franchises to never have a no hitter or a perfect game thrown by one of their pitchers.

With Humber's performance today, the total of ex-Met pitchers to throw either a no-no or a perfect game after leaving the Metropolitans is seven.

Here is the list:
Nolan Ryan (California Angels, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers) 
Tom Seaver (Cincinnati Reds) 
Mike Scott (Houston Astros) 
Dwight Gooden (New York Yankees) 
David Cone (New York Yankees) 
Hideo Nomo (Boston Red Sox) 
Philip Humber (Chicago White Sox)

What makes this list impressive is that you have arguably four of the greatest pitchers to play for the Mets in Ryan, Seaver, Gooden and Cone reaching their no hitter/perfect game achievements elsewhere. Ryan has more no-hitters than any other pitcher in the history if the game (Sandy Koufax is next with four no-hitters). Seaver took three no hitters into the ninth inning and lost two with one out and one with two outs in the ninth in Dave Stiebian fashion (Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays took 4 no-hitters into the ninth and lost them before he recorded a no-hitter). Humber is a former 1st round pick for the Mets in 2004 and Scott was utterly dominant in his NY Cy Young and NL League Championship Series MVP (in a losing effort) season of 1986 and to further add insult to injury, Scott was potentially the only man who could derail the locomotive that was the 1986 New York Mets. So the feats of these pitchers make each and every no hitter or perfect game thrown outside of Shea Stadium and Citi Field that much more bitter.  

Here is the breakdown of no hitters/perfect thrown by the former Mets pitchers:

Nolan Ryan
- May 15, 1973 – California Angles 3, Kansas City Royals 0 away at Kansas City
- June 15, 1973 – California Angels 6, Detroit Tigers 0 away at Detroit
- Sept. 28, 1974 – California Angels 4, Minnesota Twins 0 in Anaheim
- June 1, 1975 – California Angels 1 Baltimore Orioles 0 in Anaheim
- Sept. 26, 1981 – Houston Astros 5 Los Angeles Dodgers 0 home in Houston
- June 11, 1990 – Texas Rangers 5 Oakland A’s 0 away at Oakland
- May 1, 1991 – Texas Rangers 3 Toronto Blue Jays 0 home in Texas

Tom Seaver
- June 16, 1978 – Cincinnati Reds 4, St. Louis Cardinals 0 home in Cincinnati

Mike Scott
- September 25, 1986 – Houston Astros 2, San Francisco Giants 0 home in Houston

Dwight Gooden
- May 14, 1996 – New York Yankees 2, Seattle Mariners 0 home in the Bronx

David Cone
- July 18, 1999 – New York Yankees 6, Montreal Expos 0 in the Bronx ***Perfect Game

Hideo Nomo
- April 4, 2001 – Boston Red Sox 3, Baltimore Orioles 0 away at Baltimore

Philip Humber
- April 12, 2012 – Chicago White Sox 4, Seattle Mariners 0 away at Seattle ***Perfect Game

Combined No-Hitters with former Mets pitchers

Alejandro Peña
On Sept. 11, 1991, Peña was a part of a three-pitcher no-hitter for the Braves closing out a game that was started by Kent Mercker (6 innings) and relieved by Mark Wohlers (2 innings). The Braves beat the San Diego Padres 1-0. Pena had been traded to the Braves from the Mets earlier in the season. Oswalt was removed in the first inning due to an injury.

Octavio Dotel
On June 11, 2003, Dotel was a part of the largest combined no hitter when as a member of the Houston Astros. He joined Roy Oswalt, Pete Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner in no hitting the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Oswalt had been removed in the first inning due to an injury.

Who knows when the Mets will get their elusive no hitter and/or perfect game. Where a perfect game seemed weird only a few years ago, there have been five thrown since 2004, so there is hope. I guess the Mets faithful will have to continue to believe that it'll happen sooner than later.

 FH