MLB No-Hitters and Perfect Games

In the sport of baseball, pitchers can enjoy a variety of achievements that indicate exceptional performances, most notably no-hitters and perfect games.

A Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher can record a no-hitter by completing a regulation game without yielding a hit to the opposing team. A single pitcher must finish all nine innings in order to receive credit for the game, although multiple pitchers can share joint credit if a no-hitter is maintained over the duration of a full game.

As the designation suggests, a no-hitter is only concerned with whether any opposing players reach base by way of a hit. A pitcher can still receive credit for a no-hitter if they walk batters, intentionally or otherwise, or if a batter reaches base via error.

A no-hitter may also be credited to a pitcher regardless of fielder’s choice scenarios. This means that if a defensive player cleanly fields a ball and opts to throw out a runner at second or third base instead of the player running to first base, the pitcher is not charged with giving up a hit. Batters can also reach base in a no-hitter following a wild pitch on strike three or as a result of catcher’s interference.

With these exceptions in mind, it should be noted that it is possible for a team to score runs against a pitcher that throws a no-hitter. In fact, there have been two instances of MLB pitchers receiving credit for both a no-hitter and a loss in the same game.

Ken Johnson threw a nine-inning no-hitter in 1964 as a pitcher for the Houston Colt .45s. It was a clean game for Johnson entering the top of the ninth in a 0-0 tie, but a series of errors and ground outs advanced Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds around the bases. Houston failed to score in the bottom of the ninth, resulting in a 1-0 loss and a no-hitter for Johnson, who finished with nine strikeouts and just two walks on the day.

Johnny Vander Meer is the only MLB player to pitch no-hitters in consecutive starts, a feat he achieved in 1938. In 1965, Jim Maloney became the first pitcher in nearly five decades to complete an extra innings no-hitter. He nearly managed the feat twice in one season, having given up a hit in the 11th inning earlier in the year. Nolan Ryan holds the league record with seven career no-hitters.

As one might surmise, a perfect game allows for less leeway compared to a no-hitter. To achieve a perfect game, pitchers cannot allow a single opposing player to reach base by any means. Throughout 218,400 games and 150 years of play, MLB pitchers have combined for just 23 perfect games, with no pitcher achieving the feat more than once. Don Larsen is the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in the postseason, which he achieved in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees.

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