Avoiding No-Hitters: Some Teams Manage
ALSO: CLOSERS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN 2024 CY YOUNG AWARD VOTING
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
Cleveland’s six-and-a-half-game lead at the July 30 trade deadline shrunk to two games after a 7-10 skid caused by lackluster offense . . .
Even Lane Thomas, acquired from Washington, has been a bust, helping to explain why Cleveland’s OPS and on-base percentage both rank third-from-worst in the major leagues . . .
With their NL West lead suddenly challenged by both the Padres and Diamondbacks, the Dodgers are delighted to have slugger Max Muncy back after a long run on the injured list . . .
With Austin Riley out for the season (broken hand), the Braves could do worse than plug their third-base hole with former AL batting champion Yuli Gurriel, hitting well for Triple-A Gwinnett at age 39 . . .
Speaking of age, Johnny Cueto is back in the majors with the Angels at age 38 after pitching well for AAA Salt Lake . . .
Joey Votto, on the other hand, is not, retiring at age 40 after a 17-year career, spent entirely at Cincinnati, that included an MVP trophy, Gold Glove, and six All-Star appearances . . .
Filling in for injured infielders, the Braves signed Gio Urshela (cut by Detroit) to play third after adding Whit Merrifield (axed by the Phils) to play second.
Leading Off
Some Teams Go Decades Without Being No-Hit
By Andrew Sharp
When the Nationals were no-hit by Michael Lorenzen on August 9, 2023 in Philadelphia, it ended the longest active streak by a major-league franchise of not having been victimized that way.
The Nats’ predecessor, the Montreal Expos, were last no-hit on July 18, 1999 at Yankee Stadium in New York when the Yankees' David Cone threw a perfect game. The Angels were last no-hit on September 11, 1999 so they now have the longest active streak: more than 3,900 games and counting.
On June 28, 2023, the Yankees had no-hit the Athletics — the first time since 1991 the A's had been victimized. So the Expos/Nationals only held the longest stretch without being no-hit for six weeks.
A far longer and more unusual Washington record fell last month on July 25 when the Padres’ Dylan Cease threw a no-hitter against the Nationals in D.C. That was the first time ever either of the two Washington Senators teams (1901-1960 and 1961-1971) or the Nationals (2005 to 2024) had been no-hit at home.
Only Kansas City’s two teams have avoided being no-hit at home as few times as those in Washington. The Athletics were never no-hit when they played at home in Kansas City (1955-1967). The Royals have been no-hit at home just once –- on May 15, 1973.
The St. Louis Cardinals, among the older MLB franchises, haven’t been no-hit at home since July 20, 1906, a streak unlikely ever to be matched. (The Cards also had been no-hit at home in 1901.) Among the younger expansion teams, the Rockies, Diamondbacks and Rays have been no-hit at home just once each.
No visiting team ever no-hit D.C.’s original American League franchise, as bad as the Senators were for long stretches of the 20th Century –- enough to prompt the “First in War, first in peace, and last in the American League” trope.
The only no-hitter thrown at the ballpark in use from 1911 through 1961 (known as Griffith Stadium beginning in the 1920s) was against the Red Sox on August 8, 1931, by a journeyman left-hander named Bobby Burke. It was one of just three complete games he pitched in a 10-year career.
The expansion team was never no-hit during its first season, played at Griffith Stadium, or during its remaining tenure in Washington from 1962 through 1971 at D.C. Stadium, renamed in honor of the assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy for the 1969 season.
The great Walter Johnson was on his way to pitching a no-hitter at Griffith Stadium during Washington’s World Series-winning season in 1924 when rain ended a game against the Browns after seven innings. That game was on the list of no-hitters until 1991, when MLB determined that an official no-hitter had to be at least nine innings and end that way.
On June 23, 1917, in Boston, Ernie Shore of the Red Sox famously beat Washington in what was long considered a perfect game. Starter Babe Ruth was ejected when he punched the umpire after walking the Senators’ lead-off batter. When Shore came in, the runner was immediately thrown out trying to steal. Shore retired the next 26 hitters in a row. At least that remains on the official list as a combined no-hitter.
Washington would not be no-hit anywhere for another 30 years -- until September 1947 in Philadelphia. That was far from a record, however.
After Sandy Koufax threw a perfect game against them at Dodger Stadium on September 9, 1965, the Chicago Cubs went just short of 50 years before being no-hit anywhere again. Cole Hamels of the Phillies did it at Wrigley Field on July 25, 2015.
That was the longest stretch of games by a team having at least one hit. Cincinnati was at 44 years when the Cubs were no-hit by Hamels, but the Reds’ streak ended the next season in April when the Cubs’ Jake Arrieta turned the tables and no-hit them.
For all things no-hitter-related, Dirk Lammers’ Nonohitters.com web site is the place to go. Every no-hitter is listed there, along with the location, final score and other details.
Andrew C. Sharp is a retired newspaper journalist and a SABR member who lives in New Jersey but blogs about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Cleaning Up
Relievers — Mainly Clase — Merit Recognition In 2024 Cy Young Voting
By Dan Schlossberg
In a year when most starting pitchers are struggling, maybe it’s time closers got more consideration in voting for the Cy Young Award.
When this week began, the top-rated closer in the majors was Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals. He converted 38 of 41 save chances, fanned 58 in 51 2/3 innings, and crafted a 2.61 earned run average out of a busy Cardinal pen.
But he probably wasn’t as sharp as Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase, who had saved 37 of 40 opportunities in 58 appearances while posting a 0.66 WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) and holding hitters to a .159 batting average. His earned run average was a microscopic 0.63.
Atlanta’s fast-working Raisel Iglesias has been even stingier with rival hitters, holding them to a .142 mark. Saving 26 of 28 chances, he had a 1.51 ERA and 0.65 WHIP. Not too shabby, especially in an age when managers don’t like to overwork their closers.
By comparison, Mets closer Edwin Diaz — who should have won the Cy Young two years ago — was merely ordinary. Thanks to early-season stumbles due to rust from missing all of last year with a knee injury, he had only 14 saves in 19 chances and a 1.09 WHIP and .200 opponents’ average. But his fastball was still there, with 50 strikeouts in 35 innings serving as an accurate barometer.
No reliever has won a Cy Young since Eric Gagne of the 2003 Los Angeles Dodgers and no American League closer has won since Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley took both the pitching trophy and MVP award in 1992.
Although the Cy Young Award was created in 1956 and split between the two leagues in 1967, the first reliever to win it was Mike Marshall of the Dodgers in 1974. That was the year the kinesiology professor worked 208 innings in 106 games — both relief pitching records not likely to be duplicated.
Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman got the most first-place votes in 1998 but finished second to Atlanta southpaw starter Tom Glavine in overall points, 99-88.
Other closers who have won a Cy Young were Bruce Sutter (1979 Cubs), Willie Hernandez (1984 Tigers), Steve Bedrosian (1987 Phillies), and Mark Davis (1989 Padres).
No reliever has ever won it twice, though Hernandez, like Eckersley, also took home an MVP trophy the same year he won his Young.
It’s been 21 years since a reliever won the Cy Young, so it’s about time. In fact, ESPN’s Cy Young Predictor puts Clase light-years ahead of stalwart starters Tarik Skubal, Corbin Burnes, and Framber Valdez in the American League this season.
The predictor gives pitchers points based on performance with bonuses added if a candidate’s team also wins a divisional title — as Clase’s Cleveland club could do in the tightly-contested American League Central.
The right-hander worked 58 times (57 1/3 innings) in Cleveland’s first 124 games, allowing four earned runs all season, holding hitters to an .083 batting average with men in scoring position and lefties to a .107 mark. The Guardians went 52-6 in his games.
And wait, there’s more: Clase walked just seven of the 209 batters he faced and posted an 0.66 WHIP, trailing only Baltimore’s Danny Coulombe (0.62) and Atlanta’s Iglesias (0.65).
Earlier this season, the three-time All-Star notched saves in four consecutive games.
According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Clase’s performance compares favorably with thoseof Gagne and Eckersley during their Cy Young Award campaigns. That’s not too shabby, considering the Dodger closer converted a record 55 consecutive saves and crafted a 1.20 ERA when he won the NL honor.
Eckersley led the league with 51 saves in 1992, figured in 58 of Oakland’s 96 victories, and got 15 first-place votes in the MVP voting to take the prize with 306 points.
Can Clase make the case with Cy Young voters? Or will he become the 10th closer to finish second in the voting since the writers started handing out two awards in 1967?
We’ll know when 2024 honors are handed out a few days after the World Series ends.
Former AP sportswriter Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, and Sports Collectors Digest, among others. He’s also the author of 40 books, including Home Run King: the Remarkable Record of Hank Aaron. Dan’s email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: Walter Johnson’s 1-0 Games
With the singular exception of Cy Young, Walter Johnson won more games (417 between 1907 and 1927) than anyone in baseball history . . .
He would have won more had he not lost 26 games (two in relief) by 1-0 scores . . .
The Big Train, who worked more than twice as many 1-0 games as any other pitcher, went 38-26 in games in which a single run scored . . .
Not included in that record is a 0-0, 12-inning tie against Jack Quinn of the Yankees on May 11, 1919 in which Johnson yielded just two hits and retired 28 men in a row . . .
The Washington wonder won an 18-inning game by a 1-0 score just a year earlier, defeating Claude Williams of the Chicago White Sox . . .
He needed 15 innings to win three other 1-0 games but lost six games that were scoreless after the regulation nine innings . . .
Johnson’s 1-0 wins came against 34 different pitchers, with Hall of Famer Addie Joss among those who fell victim twice . . .
On the minus side, Babe Ruth won three 1-0 games from Johnson, as did Ed Walsh, while Ray Collins beat him twice by the same score . . .
George Sisler — yes, THAT George Sisler — won just five games as a pitcher but one of them was a 1-0 win over Johnson in 1916.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.
Whether it goes to a starter or a closer, it ought to be the Walter Johnson Award.