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

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

Andy Hawkins The Yankee Who Pitched a No Hitter and Lost

This post was inspired by a comment made by my friend Russ. We were talking about being realistic about the Yankees' chances this season after talking about my last post The State of The Yankees Entering June. Now the comment he made was as so:

You know I love my team, win or lose. If Andy Hawkins pitching a no-hitter and losing couldn't drive me away, nothing can. It's just a question of being realistic

Now that got me thinking. I remember that no hitter by Hawkins. So I decided to go back in time and take a look at that particular game.

As Russ also stated, that was the first no-hitter since Dave Righetti's July 4th no-hitter in 1983. That 1990 season was definitely not one for the ages for the New York Yankees. The Yankees finished the 1990 season with a 67-95 record finishing 7th and dead last in the AL East 21 games out of first place. Now Andy Hawkins joined the Yankees as a free-agent during the 1988 offseason and was a respectable 15-15 with a 4.80 ERA in his first season in the American League (1989). Hawkins had pitched his first seven seasons with the San Diego Padres. The 1990 season was one that Hawkins sure would want to forget. He would finish the 1990 season with a 5-12 record with 5.37 ERA. This is the season of the loss during his only no-hitter.

The game was on Sunday July 1 and the opponent for the Yankees were the Chicago White Sox. Opposing the Yankees was pitcher Greg Hibbard. Here is how Michael Martinez in his article No-Hitter, but With No Glory of the New York Times describes the game up to the moment of truth for Hawkins:

The Yankees were almost no-hit themselves. Greg Hibbard, the starting pitcher for the White Sox, retired the first 16 batters he faced before Bob Geren reached base on an infield hit in the sixth. Hawkins, meantime, set down the first 14 White Sox hitters, walked two and opened the eighth by getting Ron Karkovice and Scott Fletcher to hit pop flies.

With two outs in the top of the 8th Sammy Sosa (yes, THAT Sammy Sosa) grounded to 3B Mike Blowers who dropped the ball causing Sosa to reach base. Andy Hawkins wouldn't help his cause by consecutively walking Ozzie Guillen and Lance Johnson. Up to the plate came Robin Ventura.

It would seem that Hawkins would get out of the inning unscathed when he got Ventura to fly out to rookie left fielder Jim Leyritz. But knowing how the season would end for the Yankees in 1990, it was not to be. With the runners on the move with two outs, Leyritz would end up dropping the ball causing all three runners to score. With the score 3-0 and the no-hitter still intact, Ventura would score when a fly ball by White Sox slugger Ivan Calderon was lost in the sun by Yankee right fielder Jesse Barfield. In total, 2 walks and 3 Yankee errors in the bottom of the 8th inning were the difference in the game. For Hawkins would indeed a bitter achievement since he would have thrown a no-hitter but be hung for the loss. Here is how Hawkins described it:

''I'm stunned; I really am,'' he said, still standing on the field. ''This is not even close to the way I envisioned a no-hitter would be. You dream of one, but you never think it's going to be a loss. You think of Stewart and Fernando, coming off the field in jubilation. Not this.''

The reference to Stewart and Fernando? Dave Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela threw WINNING no-hitters on the same day, 48 hours before Hawkins pitched his. But Hawkins wasn't alone.

At that point there had been 13 other no-hitters for losses, the last one before that one being in 1967. Here is the salt being rubbed in the proverbial wound. According to the Major League Baseball rules on no-hitters:

An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a no-hit game, a batter may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference.

Since the Yankees were on the road at Comiskey Field and on the losing end of the score, Hawkins never got to pitch the 9th inning thus invalidating his no-hitter. How's that for bad luck. Hawkins would pitch half of the 1991 season with the Yankees before being released and pick up by the Oakland A's. He would finish his career after that same season.

That is some of the stuff us older Yankee fans went through before the current stretch of successful Yankee seasons. Thanks again to Russ for the inspiration for the post.

Sisco Kid

For Further Reading
- Click Here to Access Andy Hawkins' career statistics from Baseball Reference.com
- Click Here to Access Michael Martinez's article No-Hitter, but With No Glory from the New York Times dated July 2, 1990 from NYTimes.com
- Click Here to Access the Box Score for the July 1, 1990 game against the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox from BaseballReference.com
- Click Here to Access the official Major League Baseball Rules from the MLB.com