List of Houston Astros no-hitters

The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Houston, Texas. Formed in 1962, they play in the National League Central division. Also known in their early years as Houston Colt .45s (1962–64), pitchers for the Astros have thrown 10 no-hitters in franchise history.^[1] A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings".^[2] No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form.^[3] A no-hitter is rare enough that only one team in Major League Baseball has never had a pitcher accomplish the feat.^[a] No perfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been thrown in Astros history.^[4] As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."^[2]

Don Nottebart threw the first no-hitter in Astros history on May 17, 1963; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by a combined no-hitter by Roy Oswalt and five other pitchers on June 11, 2003.^[4] No left-handed starting pitchers have thrown no-hitters in franchise history. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Darryl Kile and a combined no-hitter led by Oswalt, encompassing 9 years, 9 months and 3 days from September 8, 1993 to June 11, 2003. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Nottebart and Ken Johnson, encompassing 11 months and 6 days from May 17, 1963 to April 23, 1964.^[4] They no-hit the Cincinnati Reds the most, which occurred twice, which were no-hit by Johnson in 1964 and Don Wilson in 1969. There are three no-hitters in which the team allowed at least a run, thrown by Nottebart in 1963, Johnson in 1964 (which was a 9-inning home loss), and Kile in 1993. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was by Wilson (in 1969), who allowed eight. Eight no-hitters were thrown at home, and two were thrown on the road. They threw two in April, two in May, two in June, one in July, and three in September. Of the 10 no-hitters, three have been won by a score of 2–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter was 6–0 wins by Larry Dierker in 1976, Ken Forsch in 1979, and a 7–1 win by Kile in 1993. The smallest margin of victory was 2–0 wins Wilson in 1967, Mike Scott in 1993 and a combined no-hitter led by Oswalt in 2003.

The umpire is also an integral part of any no-hitter. The task of the umpire in a baseball game is to make any decision "which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out… [the umpire's judgment on such matters] is final."^[5] Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining the strike zone, which "is defined as that area over homeplate (sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap."^[5] These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter.^[6] A different umpire presided over each of the franchise's ten no-hitters.

The manager is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager include determining the starting rotation as well as batting order and defensive lineup every game. Six different managers have involved in the franchise's ten no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Astros history

See also

• List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

Footnotes

• ^a The only team without a no-hitter in franchise history is the San Diego Padres.

References

External links

• Houston Astros official website