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

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