Tag Archives: Browns

Aug 11

The Art of the Second No-Hitter

In over a century of Major League Baseball, you have had 277 chances to witness a no-hitter. Actually, unless you were born in the late 1800s, you’ve probably had closer to 88 chances, even less if your baseball fandom, like mine, began just a few years ago.

Of those 277 no-hitters, 39 have happened in the same ballpark in the same season. It’s kind of like a do-over. If you missed Philip Humber’s perfecto on April 21, 2012, you had the chance to return to Safeco Field on June 8 for the Mariners’ first combined no-hitter in club history.

Limiting the pool of ballparks to those still in use, you might’ve seen as many as 71 no-hitters in 21 parks, 12 of which have recorded more than one. Only four, however, have hosted multiple no-hitters in a single season: Fenway Park (1916, 1917), Wrigley Field (1972), Tropicana Field (2010), and Safeco Field (2012).

Aside from upping your chances of witnessing one, ballpark atmosphere may seem inconsequential in the construction of a no-hitter. However, of the 19 seasons with multiple no-nos in a single park, 25 of 39 games have gone to the home team. From 2001-2012, seasonal park factors indicate a strong tendency towards the most pitcher-friendly parks, with allowed runs ranging from 0.625-0.819 per game and allowed hits from 0.745-0.906.

Back to you for a second. Had you been a fan of the visiting team and missed their first no-hitter, you might’ve had a chance to attend a rematch. Six times, a no-hitter was replayed between the same two teams in the same year: Reds-Phillies in 1971, Reds-Astros in 1969, Giants-Cardinals in 1968, Braves-Phillies in 1960, Browns-White Sox in 1917, and Tigers-Browns in 1912. Most impressively, the St. Louis Browns hosted three no-hitters against the Chicago White Sox in 1917. While the Sox came away with their first win on April 14, the Browns retaliated with back-to-back no-nos on May 5 and 6.

Since then, the only no-hitter to be repeated in the same year was a Braves-Phillies match-up in 1960. The Braves, then situated in Milwaukee County Stadium, took two no-nos against the Phillies on August 18 and September 16. Both were caught by Del Crandall—who, I might add, went 2-for-4 in both games with four base hits—and both featured complete game performances from the losing pitchers, Gene Conley and John Buzhardt.

Given the rarity of no-hitters, it is impossible to project a repeat of, say, the Giants-Astros meeting earlier this season. But, stranger things have happened. Allie Reynolds tossed two no-nos in 1951. Candlestick Park saw consecutive no-hitters between the Giants and Cardinals on September 17 and 18, 1968. Fenway Park has 13 no-hitters notched on its 100-year-old belt.

Hang onto your rally caps, Twins, Cardinals, and Astros fans. Your second no-hitter may be just around the corner.

Follow the jump for the complete list of ballparks that have hosted multiple no-hitters in a single season (mid-June, on partially cloudy Thursdays, during games boasting an attendance of 22,640 or higher):

Continue reading »

Mar 15

The One-Hit Wonders of MLB

On Baseball-Reference, you can find a list of “Cup of Coffee Batters and Pitchers,” or the statistics for 972 players who have only made one appearance in a major league game. It’s an intriguing but overwhelming page, so I narrowed it down to the players who debuted on my birthday. With eleven results, here is my considerably smaller collection of one-day wonders who made their mark on September 19th.

John Ward, 1885 Providence Grays
John was 23 years old when he broke into the major leagues. He pitched 8.0 innings, struck out three batters and gave up ten hits, seven runs, and one walk. In his three at-bats, John struck out twice. This is his only recorded game.

Harry Fuller, 1891 St. Louis Browns
A 29-year-old third baseman, Harry struck out once in his two at-bats. The year prior to his debut, he played for the 1 ½ season Texas League Waco Babies.

Frank Kelliher, 1919 Washington Senators
Frank lasted for a single at-bat in the majors. Even worse, he was listed as a pinch-hitter that day.

Russ Ennis, 1926 Washington Senators
Russ may have made it as a 29-year-old catcher, but he never stood at the plate to bat.

Frank Trechock, 1937 Washington Senators
Finally, a player with a hit to his name. A 22-year-old shortstop, Frank finished the game with four at-bats, two hits, and one strikeout.

Jerry Lynn, 1937 Washington Senators
Frank’s teammate, 21-year-old second baseman Jerry Lynn, reached the majors on the same day. He was even luckier at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a single and a double.

Fred Marolewski, 1953 St. Louis Cardinals
Unfortunately, Fred also falls under the category of players who reached the majors but not the batter’s box.

Gordie Sundin, 1956 Baltimore Orioles
Gordie is the youngest of this bunch, making his pitching debut at just 19 years old. He is credited with 0.0 IP, two walks, and one earned run in two batters faced.

Jesse Hudson, 1969 New York Mets
Another young pitcher, 21-year-old Jesse lasted 2.0 innings with the Mets, facing ten batters for three strikeouts, two walks, two hits, and two earned runs.

John Lickert, 1981 Boston Red Sox
John spent nine innings behind the plate, but failed to record a plate appearance.

Jeff Richardson, 1990 California Angels
Of all these obscure one-time players, Jeff has to be my favorite. First, he made his debut on the day I was born. Secondly, he pitched 0.1 innings, facing two batters, allowing a hit, and somehow escaping with a 0.00 ERA. And lastly, his major league initiation was also the final game of his major and minor league career.

Of course, I don’t mean to be cruel by suggesting that I chose a favorite player because his career ended just as he completed a significant milestone. I simply find it interesting that a 12-5 loss to the Detroit Tigers abruptly terminated his six-year journey to the major leagues.

Should the brief stories of these eleven players inspire you to research the other 961 major league debuts, you can find the complete list here.