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

Roy Halladay the 2010 NL Cy Young Winner

It was announced a few minutes ago that Roy Halladay had unanimously won the 2010 National League Cy Young Award with 224 points. Halladay is now the fifth player in the history of the major leagues to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues. Halladay (who won the AL Cy Young Award in 2003 while with the Toronto Blue Jays) now joins Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens in that exclusive club. According to the BBWAA website:

Halladay was the 13th unanimous choice in NL voting as he received all 32 first-place votes from two writers in each league city to score a perfect 224 points, based on a tabulation system that rewards seven points for first place, four for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. The BBWAA expanded the Cy Young Award ballot from three to five pitchers this year.

The other finalists for the Cy Young Award were Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals who finished in second-place with 122 points (0-28-3-0-1). Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies came in third with 90 points (0-4-19-8-1). Tim Hudson of the Atlanta Braves came in fourth with 39 points (0-0-3-13-4). Josh Johnson came in fifth with 34 points (0-0-5-5-9).

Though I predicted that Halladay would win the NL Cy Young Award with my post of October 6, 2010, I thought that Adam Wainwright would have gotten at the very least one first place vote. Both Halladay and Wainwright were evenly matched in wins (Halladay was 21-10/Wainwright was 20-10), ERA (Halladay 2.44/Wainwright 2.42) and strikeouts (Halladay 219/Wainwright 213). Both pitchers were workhorses for their staffs but Halladay had the advantage in innings pitched and complete games. Halladay had 250 Innings pitches and 9 complete games to Wainwright's 230 Innings pitched and 5 complete games. Not to mention that little perfect gem Halladay threw against the Florida Marlins on May 29, 2010.

Halladay became the fourth Philadelphia Phillies pitcher to win the award. Steve Carlton won four Cy Young Awards (1972, 1977, 1980, 1982) with John Denny (1983) and Steve Bedrosian (1987) round out the quartet.

The AL Cy Young voting will be very contentious with those who believe that Felix Hernandez and C.C. Sabathia will be at the head of the pack in terms of votes. That award will be announced on November 18th. Coming up next is the AL and NL Managers of the Year Award.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here for the 2010 NL Cy Young Award vote list from the BBWAA.com website
- Click Here for the list of AL and NL Cy Young Award winners as of 1956 from MLB.com

Cy Young Races are Hot

While the NL Cy Young race is ablaze with viable contenders, the AL Cy Young race is a bit more subdued. For sake of the post, I'll profile the AL first then the NL.

Currently the AL has three frontrunners each with 15 wins. The AL's All-Star Game opening pitcher David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays is 15-5 with a 2.24 ERA in 22 starts with 2 complete games and 1 shutout. He has given up 122 hits, 53 runs (46 earned), struck out 133 while walking 53 for a WHIP of 1.24 in 145.2 innings pitched.

C.C. Sabathia of the New York Yankees is next with a 15-5 record with a 3.14 ERA in 25 starts with 2 complete games. He has given up 168 hits, 68 runs (61 earned), struck out 134 while walking 58 for a WHIP of 1.25 in 174.2 innings pitched.

As much as it pains me to say this, the third pitcher is Carl Pavano of the Minnesota Twins. Pavano is 15-7 with a 3.24 ERA in 24 starts with 5 complete games and 2 shutouts. He has given up 158 hits, 63 runs (61 earned), struck out 97 while walking only 29 for a WHIP of 1.11 in 168 innings pitched.

Rounding out the pack is Boston's Clay Buchholz at 13-5 2.49 ERA, New York's Phil Hughes at 13-5 3.92 ERA, Detroit's Justin Verlander at 13-7 3.72. There is one pitcher that I would consider a dark horse in this year's AL Cy Young Race and that is Oakland A's All-Star Trevor Cahill.

Cahill is currently 12-4 with a 2.56 ERA in 20 starts with 1 complete game and 1 shutout. He has given up 90 hits, 46 runs (38 earned), struck out 76 while walking 46 for a WHIP of 0.98 in 133.2 innings pitched. His consistent starting is one of the main reasons that the Oakland A's are 57-57, 9 games behind the AL West leading Texas Rangers. If last year's selections of Kansas City's Zack Greinke as the AL Cy Young with a 16-8 record and San Francisco's Tim Lincecum with 15-7 recotd for the NL Cy Young show that the voters for the Cy Young don't just look at wins and losses. It used to be that the Cy Young award winner consistently had 20-win seasons but the trend has been changed to looking at a myriad of metrics. This is why I say that Cahill is a legit contender to win the Al Cy Young. Now on to the NL.

A few weeks ago I had discussed the NL ERA Race and said that the three contenders for the ERA title (Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson and Adam Wainwright) were the top contenders for the NL Cy Young. Well folks, the field has truly gotten wider since then.

I would still consider Colorado's Ubaldo Jimenez to be at the top of the list. After a little slump, Jimenez has seemed to recharge himself. He is currently 17-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 23 starts with 3 complete games and 2 shutouts. Jimenez has given up 108 hits, 46 runs (44 earned) while striking out 143 while walking 64 for a WHIP of 1.11 with 155.1 innings pitched.

Next is the St. Louis Cardinals Adam Wainwright with a record of 17-6 with a 1.99 ERA in 25 starts with 5 complete games and 2 shutouts. He has given up 149 hits, 42 runs (39 earned), striking out 158 and walking 42 for a WHIP of 0.97 in 176.1.

Philadelphia's Roy Halladay has overcome some tough starts in his first season with the Phillies to put himself back in the thick of the Cy Young discussion. Halladay is 14-8 with a 2.34 ERA in 24 starts with 8 complete games (yes, that is correct 8 Complete games) and 3 shutouts. He has allowed 169 hits, 54 runs (48 earned) while striking out 168 and walking an amazing 22 for a WHIP of 1.03 in 185 innings pitched.

Overcoming a string of serious injuries is the Atlanta Braves' Tim Hudson who is currently 14-5 with a 2.13 ERA in 24 starts with 1 complete game. He has allowed 128 hits, 40 runs (39 earned) while striking out 89 while walking 54 for a WHIP of 1.07 in 164.2 innings pitched.

Rounding out the field is St. Louis' Chris Carpenter at 13-3 2.89 ERA, San Diego's Matt Latos 12-5 2.36 ERA and Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto 11-3 3.38 ERA.

A pitcher that has been serious derailed by his team's lack of offensive production is Florida's Josh Johnson. At the time of my last post, Johnson was 10-3 with a league leading 1.62 ERA. Now Johnson is still at 10 wins with a 10-5 records and a 2.27 ERA. I wouldn't discount his Cy Young chances if he makes a late season push getting his win totals near the 15 or 16 win mark. I can't see the voters selecting a pitcher with under 15 wins. I think 15 wins is even too low when you have pitchers winning 19 and in some cases winning 20 or more games. I still say that this year's Cy Young award winners in both leagues will win the award with 20 or more wins. There is still alot of baseball to be played so we'll see how those I profiled pitch down the stretch and I'll see if anyone sneaks up on them.

FH

A Few Thing I Want to Touch On

I have a few Baseball related things on my mind that I want to share. Here goes.

1. A-Rod breaking the unwritten rule

So Dallas Braden of the Oakland A's takes offense to A-Rod walking across the pitchers mound after running from first to third on a Robinson Cano foul ball during the 6th inning of Wednesday's game. After he yelled at A-Rod while on the field and taking his anger out on his glove and gatorade cups, here is what he said after the game:

"He should probably take a note from his captain over there and realize you don't cross the pitcher's mound in between an inning or during the game. I was just dumbfounded that he would let that slip his mind — being someone of such status."

"I don't care if I'm Cy Young or the 25th man on the roster, if I've got the ball in my hand and I'm on that mound, that's my mound ... He ran across the pitcher's mound foot on my rubber. No, not happening. We're not the door mat anymore."

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I have never heard about this unwritten rule about non-pitchers walking on the mound. I'll make sure to watch closer to see if anyone else does it. A-Rod has done questionable things on the field such as the glove slap in the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox and the "HA!" incident in Toronto a few years back, but do I think it was intentional. No, not really and its not because I'm a Yankees fan but in reality, I didn't know that you couldn't walk on the mound. I've read online how A-Rod is this and that but a choice few say that Braden was out of line for his childlike rant on and off the field. A-Rod's retort was condescending, which I believe was the tone he wanted to use. Here it is:

He just told me to get off his mound. I was a little surprised. I'd never quite heard that. Especially from a guy that has a handful of wins in his career ... I thought it was pretty funny actually."

Could have A-Rod taken the high road, probably. But you know what, he is who he is and if he didn't think he should have apologized if he didn't feel that he had to. If Braden had an issue, he should have addressed it face-to-face like a man as K-Rod did when Bruney gave his two-cents on K-Rod's post-save ritual. Plus, imagine a young pitcher mouthing off to a veteran player like Reggie Jackson or Pete Rose in that manner back in the days. What happened to that unwritten rule?

2. David Ortiz and his future in Boston

I asked my friends Harper and Barry on how long David Ortiz has in Boston if he is still struggling. Ortiz is in his last contract year with the Red Sox and it seems to me that if he is playing next year. It won't be in Boston. Would Boston GM Theo Epstein trade one of the Bosox's favorite players? He did it in 2004 by trading Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs. If a team that is in contention needs a DH and the Red Sox are far enough out of it, maybe Theo will trade Big Papi for a couple of minor leaguers. The most he'll get for Ortiz is a draft pick (if the Red Sox offer him a new deal and he signs with someone else). Ortiz is not the same player he once was before the wrist injury. We'll see how this plays out.

3. Cliff who?

While Cliff Lee is on the DL for the Seattle Mariners until May, Roy Halladay is helping the Phillies faithful forget him. Halladay is 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA, 28 strikeouts with only 3 walks and a WHIP of 0.88 in 33 innings pitched. Halladay's current dominiance of National League hitting is further cementing his status as the best power pitcher in the game today. I have two words for the Philly Faithful: CLIFF WHO????
Any issues, queries, questions or comments? Let me know.

FH