May 14, 2019

"When's the last time the Brewers had a no-hitter?"

I ask when Meade tries to interest me in the fact that Mike Fiers had a no-hitter: He used to be a Milwaukee Brewer.

Researching the answer to my question, I discover nohitters.com, where I learn that the Brewers have had only one no-hitter in their entire history, and it was way back in 1987. And this is in the sidebar (click to enlarge and clarify):
That is, the Padres are about to beat the all-time record currently held by the Mets, who went 8,019 games without a no-hitter. The Padres have gone their entire history — 50 years, 1 month, 6 days — without a no-hitter. Good luck, Padres!

27 comments:

rehajm said...

When the Red Sox pitch a no hitter everyone gets free furniture!

(Full disclosure: In case you don't recognize him, the pony tail guy is a Boston furniture celebrity and is owned by Warren Buffett)

Rory said...

In their second season, 1970, the Padres Clay Kirby pitched 8 no-hit innings. He walked 5, though, so the Padres trailed 1-0. He was removed for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth, and a reliever finished out the ninth as the Padres lost. Kirby still hasn't yielded a hit in that game.

A guy named Steve Arlen had a stretch in 1972 where started 8 games for the Padres, and threw 2 one-hitters and 3 two-hitters. He finished 10-21 for the season.

Wince said...

rehajm said...
In case you don't recognize him, the pony tail guy is a Boston furniture celebrity and [the store] is owned by Warren Buffett).

Consider the possibility this is an extension of Buffett's core insurance business under Berkshire-Hathaway.

I'd bet B-H is writing the "insurance" to Jordan's Furniture against the risk that the Red Sox pitcher has a no-hitter.

I'd like to know the amount of the insurance premium Jordans paid to B-H upfront to cover the risk.

Static Ping said...

The Mets no hitter comes with an asterisk as the umpire blew a fairly obvious call, turning a hit into a foul ball. Then again no hitters are based on the rulings of the umpires and the score keeper, so it is technically a no hitter. It is simply less satisfying than most no hitters.

Pitchers who have thrown no hitters and perfect games after they left the Mets is surprisingly extensive. One of the things that made the Mets no hitter drought so painful is the team has often been blessed with good and great pitching but none of them could do the deed until after they left.

The Padres, for their part, have rarely had good pitching and, for that matter, rarely had good teams. They are also infamous in a 1970 game for pinch hitting in a game for Clay Kirby, who had a no hitter through 8 innings, because they were down 1-0 in a meaningless game. It was one of the dumbest field decisions in baseball history, and for that matter it didn't work as the pinch hitter struck out and the relief pitcher in the 9th gave up 2 runs and 3 hits. Here's a link to the game in question:

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1970/B07210SDN1970.htm

Curious George said...

The Cubs Carlos Zambrano threw a no-hitter in Miller Park. The opposing team was the Houston Astros, who were the "home team" because they couldn't play at home due to hurricane Ike. This is the only time a no-hitter was thrown at a neutral site.

Curious George said...

Carlos Zambrano is also the only pitcher with a last name starting with Z to throw a no-hitter.

Ficta said...

Jordan Zimmermann begs to differ.

Lincolntf said...

I went to a bad weather game at Fenway in 2002. Originally Pedro Martinez was going to be the starter, but for some reason they started Derek Lowe instead. I was highly annoyed, sitting in a cold, damp grandstand seat watching a pitcher I didn't particularly care for. Lo and behold, D. Lowe throws a no-hitter! First and only MLB no-no I've ever seen in person.

rehajm said...

and [the store] is owned by Warren Buffett

No, no [the store]. I had it right ;-)...

...and yes Berkshire underwrites the contingency policy. They also wrote the policy in 2007 when the RS won the World Series and gave away over $30 million in free furniture.

It seemed like a safer bet back then...

Leland said...

Fiers last no-no was after the Astros acquired him from the Brewers.

Char Char Binks, Esq. said...

A no-hittter -- THE MOST EXCITING PLAY IN BASEBALL!

Skeptical Voter said...

As a life long Padre fan I used to say that it was like being a Chicago Cubs fan with the calendar perpetually stuck in August. That's when the Cubbies usually choose to die.

But hey, we've been to the World Series twice in the last 35 years--. So there is that.

Wilbur said...

I went to my first University of Miami game in 1987. The pitcher was Joe Grahe, who later pitched for the Angels. He threw a perfect game, against Southern Illinois.

In 1972 I was at home on a Sunday afternoon and as watched Cub Milt Pappas have a perfect game against the Padres with two outs in the 9th inning. He went to 3-2 against pinch-hitter Larry Stahl, then threw a borderline but outside pitch. The umpire called ball four. Pappas went berserk, coming off the mound screaming at the umpire Bruce Froehming. In any other situation, Pappas would have been ejected. I remember turning to my father and saying "If you're afraid to challenge Larry Stahl, you don't deserve a perfect game." Pappas got his no-hitter as the next hitter popped out.

Pappas later recounted he spoke to umpire Froehming years later and said "Bruce, you coulda' been famous! The plate umpire for a perfect game!" Froehming said "Remember (pitcher _____) who threw a perfect game last year?" "Yeah." 'Who was the plate umpire?"
Pappas didn't know.

Wince said...

rehajm said...
(Full disclosure: In case you don't recognize him, the pony tail guy is a Boston furniture celebrity and is owned by Warren Buffett).

The way you wrote it originally, Barry Tatelman [not the store] was owned by Buffet.

Well, technically the man is not "owned" by Buffet.

daskol said...

Catching David Wells' perfecto against the Twins was a highlight of my baseball watching career: popped over to a friend's house, we had a miscommunication and he wasn't there, and I watched it with his roommate, who I met that day and who remains a close friend to this day. Watching Jurassic Carl go to 1-2 and then foil Mussina's perfect game on a damned good pitch was an educational moment too, and probably the most emotional I've ever felt watching baseball. No hitters happen every season.

Yancey Ward said...

I watched a lot baseball growing up, I haven't even seen a no-hitter on television, though I did listen to Tom Seaver's no-hit game on the radio.

Yancey Ward said...

And I listened to part of Tom Browning's perfect game 10 years later.

Curious George said...

"Ficta said...
Jordan Zimmermann begs to differ."

OK, I guess now it's the first "Z", although no-hitting the Marlins shouldn't count. ;-)

Big Mike said...

I find it interesting that the Washington Nationals have had 3 no-hitters just since moving to Washington in 2005.

Yancey Ward said...

What was the most improbable event in baseball history? I think Johnny Vander Meer's back to back no -hitters has to be the answer, right?

Curious George said...

"Yancey Ward said...
What was the most improbable event in baseball history? I think Johnny Vander Meer's back to back no -hitters has to be the answer, right?"

Those are events, but certainly in the hunt. DiMaggio's 57 game hitting streak comes to mind.

Curious George said...

"Big Mike said...
I find it interesting that the Washington Nationals have had 3 no-hitters just since moving to Washington in 2005."

They have Max Scherzer, who pitched two of them in 2015. All three came in two years. So nothing to do with the move.

Crimso said...

"I think Johnny Vander Meer's back to back no -hitters has to be the answer, right?" If we're thinking outside the confines of a single game, Ryan's 7 no-hitters is a very strong contender. Very doubtful anyone will ever top that, since the trend has been for more relief pitching and fewer complete games. Seem to recall just days ago that a pitcher pitched a complete game, hit a home run, and won the game 1-0. That has to be pretty rare in more recent decades.

SgtDad said...

"Brewers" is just the pseudonym the thieves gave the team when they stole the Pilots from Seattle.

Fishersvillemike said...

I was at Brewers no-hitter, and my friend and I were behind home plate for last out. She

Achilles said...

Listening to the radio I switch off adds pretty fast.

Then I get to a sports talk station and they are talking about baseball or god forbid playing an actual baseball game.

I switch back to the adds because they are more interesting.

Bricap said...

Most unbreakable records is an interesting question. Aside from JVM's 2 no-nos and DiMaggio's streak.....

Joe Sewell's career strikeout percentage, I'd always thought that was unassailable, but Willians Astudillo, a new player with the Twins, makes me think it's possible.

Nolan Ryan's career strikeout record of 5.714, not in my lifetime.

Same goes for Cy Young's career wins record of 511 or Jack Chesbro's 41 win season. Maybe a knuckleballer who takes it to the next level?

Elroy Face had 18 wins in a season as a reliever. How is that even possible?

Will another right handed hitter ever go a whole season without a GIDP. Biggio is the only one.

Ty Cobb's 54 career steals of home, good luck with that.

Barry Bonds' intentional walks records for season and career, in the asterisk category.