How Many No Hitters Have There Been in Baseball History?

Did you know that there have been over 300 no-hitters in baseball history? That’s a lot of incredible pitching performances! In this blog post, we take a look at the history of no-hitters in baseball, from the first one ever pitched to the most recent.

Introduction

A no-hitter is a game in which a pitcher or pitchers complete a game without giving up a hit. A pitcher who throws a no-hitter is said to have “thrown a no-hitter,” or to have “pitched a no-hitter.” This feat is exceedingly rare in baseball; only 302 have been thrown in the history of the major leagues as of 2019, an average of roughly two per season.

No-hitters have been thrown since the early days of baseball’s professional era. The first known professional no-hitter was thrown by George Bradley on July 15, 1876, for the Hartford Dark Blues against the Philadelphia Athletics. No-hitters were relatively uncommon until the 1880s, when they began to be thrown with increasing regularity. From 1880 to 1900, seven no-hitters were thrown; from 1901 to 1910, there were nine; and from 1911 to 1920, there were eight. In contrast, from 1921 to 1930, 16 no-hitters were thrown; from 1931 to 1940, six were thrown; and from 1941 to 1950, there were just three.

The frequency of no-hitters began to rise again in the 1980s and 1990s; from 1981 to 1990, there were eleven no hitters pitched; and from 1991–2000, there were eighteen. In more recent years (2001–2010), sevenpitchers accomplished the feat; while since 2011 (as of June 2019), fifteen pitchers have hurled at least one no hitter each season. Several notable pitchers whohave never pitched a perfect game or even a no hitter include future Hall of Famers Pedro Martinez (who famously came close on multiple occasions), Nolan Ryan (who famously came even closer on multiple occasions), Sandy Koufax (whose injuries prevented him from pitching more than his 12 seasons), Tom Glavine(whose career innings total was dwarfed by his fellow starting pitchers of his era) and Roger Clemens(who spent most of his career in relief).

No-Hitters in Baseball History

A no-hitter is a feat in baseball in which a pitcher throws a complete game without giving up a hit. As of 2019, there have been 309 no-hitters in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB). pitchers have thrown a no-hitter.

Pre-1900

From the baseball era known as the dead-ball era (1900-1919), there were no recorded no-hitters. In fact, the first recorded no-hitter was thrown by George Bradley of the St. Louis Browns on July 15, 1902. Prior to that, there were some close calls and disputed games, but nothing that could be indisputably called a no hitter.

1900-1949

There were 23 no-hitters thrown in the 50 years between 1900 and 1949. The first decade of the century saw the most no-hitters, with eight being thrown between 1900 and 1909. There were no no-hitters thrown in 1910 or 1911, but there were three in 1912. Honus Wagner, future Hall of Fame shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, became the first active player to throw a no-hitter, doing so on May 2, 1912. Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Philadelphia Phillies threw two no-hitters in his career; the first on April 21, 1915 and the second on October 7, 1916. Buster Brown of the Boston Braves threw a no-hitter on May 5, 1922. Brown’s was the only no-hitter in the 1920s until Virgil Trucks of the Detroit Tigers threw two in a row; the first on May 15, 1941 and the second just nine days later on May 24. Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians threw a no-hitter on April 30, 1940. This was one of three no-hitters that season;statistically, this is considered to be one of if not THE most remarkable season for pitching in baseball history as there had never been more than two no-hitters thrown in any single season before 1940. Jim Bagby of the Cleveland Indians also pitched a no-hitter that year on September 28 against his future team, the Detroit Tigers. The third and final pitcher to throw a no-hitter that season was Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees who did so on July 12 against their crosstown rivals, the New York Giants.

1950-1999

Between 1950 and 1999, there were 251 no-hitters thrown in Major League Baseball history. Nolan Ryan holds the record for the most no-hitters in a career, with seven. Sandy Koufax is second on the list, with four.

2000-present

In the 21st century, there have been 27 no-hitters pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) games through September 2019. No-hitters have also been thrown in competitive non-MLB games such as high school and little league contests. Seventeen different pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in the 2000s; Randy Johnson and Mark Buehrle each accomplished the feat four times, while Hideo Nomo did it three times. Nolan Ryan, who pitched seven no-hitters during his career – a record he currently shares with Sandy Koufax – threw his most recent one in 1991, and as of 2019 he is the most recent Hall of Famer to do so. Johnson is also the most recent member of the 300 win club to hurl a no-hitter. One perfect game – a special subcategory of no-hitter in which no batters reach base at all – has also been thrown since 2000; it was accomplished by Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics on May 9, 2010. Buehrle’s mark on July 23, 2009 against the Tampa Bay Rays was notable because it included a play at first base in which Rays’ player Dioner Navarro ran towards first baseman Carlos Peña to try to beat out a close play, only for Peña to tag him out; this rare event has only occurred two other times since 1901. Roy Halladay’s no-hitter on October 6, 2010 was notable because he pitched it during Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS; it was also Halladay’s second career no-hitter and signing bonus baby Edwin Jackson’s first.

On June 29, 2012, six Major League pitchers combined to pitch a no-hitter for their team: Justin Verlander (Tigers), Jered Weaver (Angels), Félix Hernández (Mariners), Jonathan Sánchez (Giants), Josh Beckett (Dodgers) and Matt Cain (Giants). It was just the second time in MLB history that six pitchers had combined to pitch a single no-hitter; Mariners pitchers Kencloud Braithwaitea total of 377 PAs without an extra base hit or an outfield assist as recently as 2001. As of 2019, three active pitchers have thrown more than one no-hitter: Justin Verlander (3), Clayton Kershaw (2), and Max Scherzer (2).

Conclusion

In summary, there have been 23 official no-hitters in baseball history. Of those, 8 were perfect games. There have been an additional 3 no-hitters that were later forfeited due to rules violations. Finally, there have been 5 no-hitters that were thrown in exhibition games and are not considered official.