Lost No-Hitter with 2-Outs in the 9th

The Tampa Bay Rays were almost bit by the no-hit bug once again. Brendan Morrow of the Toronto Blue Jays carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the ninth inning. After getting the first two outs in the inning, the no-no was lost on a base hit by Evan Longoria who just got the ball past a diving Adam Lind. Morrow got the complete game victory by giving up just one hit while striking out 17 and walking only 2. As impressive and disappointing this performance was, Morrow is one in the long line of pitchers to lose a no-hitter in the ninth. Stew Thornley on his webpage milkeespress.com highlights the perfect games and no-hitters that have been lost in the ninth inning since 1961. Click here to see the list.

While there have been many pitchers to lose a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning, I believe that there is one out of them all who was the most impressive than the rest. Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays was a workhorse of a pitcher who lost three no-hitters with two outs in the bottom of the ninth (Stieb also lost a no-hitter in the ninth with no outs in 1985). What I believe to be most impressive is the last two that Stieb lost were done in back-to-back starts. Stieb had no-hit the Cleveland Indians on September 24, 1988 until giving up a hit to Julio Franco. During his next start on September 30, 1988, Stieb lost another no-hitter with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. This time the lost no-no came at the hands of Jim Traber of the Baltimore Orioles. Stieb finally achieved his long overdue goal of pitching a no-hitter by defeating the Cleveland Indians on September 2, 1990.

Only one pitcher in the history of the game has thrown two consecutive no-hitters. That fortunate fellow was Johnny Vander Meer who no-hit the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers whle pitching for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938. What makes his achievement more impressive is that he threw the no-hitters four days apart: June 11, 1938 and June 15, 1938.

In a related article Wayne Graczyk of the Japan Times writes the following article: Rash of MLB no-hitters recalls NPB gems from past. I have always been fascinated by the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB)and look to find out any new information on the league. The league's roots can be traced back to 1934 and was re-organized in 1950. Graczyk's article notes that there have been 17 perfect games in the history of the NPB and he describes some of the more unique ones. Check it out for an interesting read.

FH

First No-Hitter For Each Franchise Post 1900

With Matt Garza's no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers last night, Tampa Bay was taken off of the list of those franchises that have never had a no-hitter thrown by one of their pitchers. I found this list on MLB.com and decided to post it here for your information.

FIRST NO-HITTER FOR EACH FRANCHISE (POST-1900)
Angels Bo Belinsky against the Baltimore Orioles May 5, 1962
Astros Don Nottebart against the Philadelphia Phillies May 17, 1963
Athletics (1) Weldon Henley against the St. Louis Browns July 22, 1905
Blue Jays Dave Steib against the Cleveland Indians Sept. 2, 1990
Braves (2) Big Jeff Pfeffer against the Cincinnati Reds May 8, 1907
Brewers Juan Nieves against the Baltimore Orioles April 15, 1987
Cardinals Jesse Haines against the Boston Braves July 17, 1924
Cubs Jimmy Lavender against the New York Giants Aug. 31, 1915
DiamondBacks Randy Johnson against the Atlanta Braves May 18, 2004
Dodgers (3) Mal Eason against the St. Louis Cardinals July 20, 1906
Giants (4) Christy Matthewson against the St. Louis Cardinals July 15, 1901
Indians Bob Rhoads against the Boston Red Sox Sept. 18, 1908
Mariners Randy Johnson against the Detroit Tigers June 2, 1990
Mets Yet to throw no-hitter
Marlins Al Leiter against the Colorado Rockies May 11, 1996
Nationals (5) Bill Stoneman against the Philadelphia Phillies April 17, 1969
Orioles (6) Earl Hamilton against the Detroit Tigers Aug. 30, 1912
Padres Yet to throw no-hitter
Phillies Chuck Fraser against the Chicago Cubs Sept. 18, 1903
Pirates Nick Maddox against the Brooklyn Superbas Sept. 20, 1907
Rangers Jim Bibby against the Oakland Athletics July 30, 1973
Rays Matt Garza against the Detroit Tigers July 26, 2010
Red Sox (7) Cy Young* against the Philadelphia Athletics May 5, 1904
Reds Nixey Callahan against the Philadelphia Phillies July 12, 1900
Rockies Ubaldo Jimenez against the Atlanta Braves April 17, 2010
Royals Steve Busby against the Detroit Tigers April 27, 1973
Tigers George Mullin against the St. Louis Browns July 4, 1912
Twins (8) Walter Johnson against the Boston Red Sox July 1, 1920
White Sox Frank Smith against the Detroit Tigers Sept. 6, 1905
Yankees George Mogridge against the Boston Red Sox April 24, 1917

* Asterisk denotes Perfect Game

(1) Then the Philadelphia Athletics
(2) Then the Boston Doves
(3) Then the Brooklyn Superbas
(4) Then the New York Giants
(5) Then the Montreal Expos
(6) Then the St. Louis Browns
(7) Then the Boston Americans
(8) Then the Washington Senators

Cy Young holds the distinction of being the only pitcher to throw the first no-hitter in a franchise's history as a perfect game with the Boston Red Sox in 1904. Randy Johnson holds the distinction of breaking the no-hitter barrier for two teams: the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Both the New York Mets and San Diego Padres have never had a no-hitter thrown in their franchise history.

FH

For Further Reading:
- Click Here to see the article by Bill Chastain on the first no-hitter for each franchise since 1900.

Latino No-Hitters

This past Saturday saw the first no-hitter of the season. Ubaldo Jimenez of the Colorado Rockies achieved this feat with a 5-0 win over the Atlanta Braves. While I was watching the celebration on the field, it got me thinking. I was wondering how many Latino pitchers have thrown a no-hitter. Latinos have been playing in the majors from very on; but Hall of Famer Juan Marichal threw the first no-no in 1963 (A 1-0 victory over the Houston Colt 45’s). In total, Latinos have thrown thirteen no-hitters of which only one was a perfect game (Dennis Martinez of the Montreal Expos in 1991 against the Los Angeles Dodgers). Here’s the list (The List was Updated July 28, 2010):

- Juan Marichal (San Francisco Giants) 1-0 vs. the Houston Colt 45’s June 15, 1963
- John Candelaria (Pittsburgh Pirates) 2-0 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers August 8, 1976
- Juan Nieves (Milwaukee Brewers) 7-0 vs. the Baltimore Orioles April 15, 1987
- Fernando Valenzuela (Los Angeles Dodgers) 6-0 vs. the St. Louis Cardinals August 15, 1990
- Dennis Martinez (Montreal Expos) 2-0 vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers July 28, 1991
- Wilson Alvarez (Chicago White Sox) 7-0 vs. the Baltimore Orioles August 11, 1991
- Ramon Martinez (Los Angeles Dodgers) 7-0 vs. the Florida Marlins July 14, 1995
- Francisco Cordova/Ricardo Rincon (Pittsburgh Pirates) 3-0 10-Innings vs. the Houston Astros July 12, 1997
- Jose Jimenez (St. Louis Cardinals) 1-0 vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks June 25, 1999
- Anibal Sanchez (Florida Marlins) 2-0 vs. the Florida Marlins September 6, 2006
- Carlos Zambrano (Chicago Cubs) 5-0 vs. the Houston Astros September 14, 2008
- Johnathan Sanchez (San Francisco Giants) 7-0 vs. the San Diego Padres July 10, 2009
- Ubaldo Jimenez (Colorado Rockies) 4-0 vs. the Atlanta Braves April 17, 2010
- Matt Garza (Tampa Bay Rays) 5-0 vs. the Detroit Tigers July 27, 2010

There are other examples of no-hitters that were called after a long rain delay. Brothers Pascual and Melido Perez both threw shortened no-hitters. Pascual threw a 5-inning no-hitter on September 24, 1988 while Melido threw a 6-inning no-hitter on July 12, 1990. Two other Latinos have shared credit in a no hitter. Alejando Pena (in 1991) and Octavio Dotel (in 2003) both contributed one inning of work in the no-hitters they participated in.

The most disappointing example of a no-hitter that was lost by a Latino was on June 5, 1995. Pedro Martinez of the Montreal Expos threw nine perfect innings against the San Diego Padres. In the 10th inning, Martinez gave up a double. The Expos won the game 1-0.

Did I miss anyone? If so, let me know.
FH

For Further Reading
- Click Here for the full list of No-Hitters ever thrown on MLB.com