List of Cleveland Indians no-hitters

The Cleveland Indians are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Cleveland, Ohio. They play in the American League Central division. Also known in their early years as the "Cleveland Blues" (1901), "Cleveland Broncos" (1902), and "Cleveland Naps" (1903–14),[1] pitchers for the Indians have thrown 14 no-hitters in franchise history.[2] A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a no-hit game, a batter may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference."[3] 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.[4] No-hitters are rare, but only one team in Major League Baseball has never had a pitcher accomplish the feat.[a] Two perfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been thrown in Indians history.[5] As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."[3] These feats were achieved by Addie Joss on October 2, 1908 and by Len Barker on May 15, 1981.

Bob Rhoads threw the first no-hitter in Indians history on September 18, 1908; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by Barker on May 15, 1981.[5] No left-handed pitchers have thrown no-hitters in franchise history while all were by right-handers. Nine no-hitters were thrown at home and five on the road. They threw four in April, two in May, two in June, three in July, two in September, and one in October. The longest interval between no-hitters in franchise history was between the games pitched by Barker and incumbent pitcher, encompassing almost 30 years from May 15, 1981 till present. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Rhoads and Joss, encompassing merely 14 days from September 18, 1908 till October 2, 1908.[5] They no-hit the Chicago White Sox the most, which occurred thrice, which were no-hit by Joss (in 1908 and 1910) and Bob Feller (in 1940). There is one no-hitter which the team allowed at least a run, which was done by Rhoads in 1908. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter were by Feller (in 1940) and Don Black (in 1947), who each allowed six. Of the 14 no-hitters, five have been won by a score of 1–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter was a 9–0 win by Wes Ferrell in 1931. The smallest margin of victory was a 1–0 wins by Joss in 1908 and 1910, Feller in 1940 and 1946, and Dennis Eckersley in 1977; and 2–1 win by Rhoads in 1908.

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."[6] 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."[6] These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter.[7] 11 different umpires presided over each of the franchise's 14 no-hitters.

The manager is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager is to determine the starting rotation as well as batting order and defensive lineup every game. Managers choosing the right pitcher and right defensive lineup at a right game at a right place at a right time would lead to a no-hitter. 11 different managers have led to the franchise's 14 no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Indians history

   Indicates a perfect game
 £  Pitcher was left-handed
 *  Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
# Date Pitcher Final score Base-
runners		 Opponent Catcher Plate umpire Manager Notes Ref
1 September 18, 1908 Rhoads, BobBob Rhoads 2–1 2 Boston Red Sox O'Neill, SteveSteve O'Neill Connolly, TommyTommy Connolly (1) Lajoie, NapNap Lajoie (1)
  • First no-hitter in franchise history
  • First no-hitter at home in franchise history
  • First right-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
  • First and only franchise's no-hitter while allowing a run
 [8]
2 October 2, 1908 Joss, AddieAddie Joss* (1) 1–0 0 Chicago White Sox Clarke, NigNig Clarke Connolly, TommyTommy Connolly (2) Lajoie, NapNap Lajoie (2)
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
  • First perfect game in Indians history and 4th in MLB history
  • Shortest interval between franchise's no-hitters
  • Latest calendar date of franchise's no-hitter
 [8]
3 April 20, 1910 Joss, AddieAddie Joss* (2) 1–0 2 @ Chicago White Sox O'Neill, SteveSteve O'Neill Perrine, BullBull Perrine McGuire, DeaconDeacon McGuire
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
  • First franchise's no-hitter on the road
  • Joss was the first pitcher to no-hit the same team twice, since then, Tim Lincecum has matched the feat by no-hitting the San Diego Padres twice
 [9]
4 September 10, 1919 Caldwell, RayRay Caldwell 3–0 2 @ New York Yankees O'Neill, SteveSteve O'Neill Evans, BillyBilly Evans Speaker, TrisTris Speaker [10]
5 April 29, 1931 Ferrell, WesWes Ferrell 9–0 5 St. Louis Browns Sewell, LukeLuke Sewell Geisel, HarryHarry Geisel (1) Peckinpaugh, RogerRoger Peckinpaugh
  • Ferrell also hit HR
  • Largest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter
  • Longest interval between franchise's no-hitters
 [11]
6 April 16, 1940 Feller, BobBob Feller* (1) 1–0 6 @ Chicago White Sox Hemsley, RollieRollie Hemsley Geisel, HarryHarry Geisel (2) Vitt, OssieOssie Vitt
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
  • First and only no-hitter on Opening Day
  • Earliest calendar date of franchise's no-hitter
  • Most baserunners allowed in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
 [12]
7 April 30, 1946 Feller, BobBob Feller* (2) 1–0 5 @ New York Yankees Hayes, FrankieFrankie Hayes Rommel, EddieEddie Rommel (1) Boudreau, LouLou Boudreau (1)
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
 [13]
8 July 10, 1947 Black, DonDon Black 3–0 6 Philadelphia Athletics Hegan, JimJim Hegan (1) Rommel, EddieEddie Rommel (2) Boudreau, LouLou Boudreau (2)
  • First game of a doubleheader
  • Shortest interval between franchise's no-hitters
  • Most baserunners allowed in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
 [14]
9 June 30, 1948 Lemon, BobBob Lemon* 2–0 3 @ Detroit Tigers Hegan, JimJim Hegan (2) Hubbard, CalCal Hubbard Boudreau, LouLou Boudreau (3)
  • Shortest interval between franchise's no-hitters
 [15]
10 July 1, 1951 Feller, BobBob Feller* (3) 3–0 5 Detroit Tigers Hegan, JimJim Hegan (3) Berry, CharlieCharlie Berry Lopez, AlAl Lopez
  • First game of a doubleheader
 [16]
11 June 10, 1966 Siebert, SonnySonny Siebert 2–0 2 Washington Senators Azcue, JoeJoe Azcue Honochick, JimJim Honochick Tebbetts, BirdieBirdie Tebbetts
  • Game was televised on ABC
 [17]
12 July 19, 1974 Bosman, DickDick Bosman 4–0 1 Oakland Athletics Ellis, JohnJohn Ellis Morgenweck, HankHank Morgenweck Aspromonte, KenKen Aspromonte
  • Bosman's own fielding error with 2 outs in the 4th allowed Oakland's only baserunner (Sal Bando)
  • The A's went on to win the 1974 World Series—their third consecutive World Championship and second straight after being no-hit during the season
 [18]
13 May 30, 1977 Eckersley, DennisDennis Eckersley* 1–0 2 California Angels Fosse, RayRay Fosse Deegan, BillBill Deegan Robinson, FrankFrank Robinson
  • Memorial Day
  • Smallest margin of victory in a franchise's no-hitter (tie)
 [19]
14 May 15, 1981 Barker, LenLen Barker 3–0 0 Toronto Blue Jays Hassey, RonRon Hassey Garcia, RichRich Garcia Garcia, DaveDave Garcia
  • Second perfect game in Indians history and 10th in MLB history
  • Most recent no-hitter in franchise history
 [20]

See also

Footnotes

References

  1. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  2. ↑ "Cleveland Indians Franchise History". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  4. ↑ Kurkjian, Tim (June 29, 2008). "No-hit win makes no sense, except in baseball". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 "Cleveland Indians on Baseball Almanac". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  6. 1 2 "Umpires: Rules of Interest". MLB.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  7. ↑ Bronson, Eric. Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box, Pgs 98–99. ISBN 0-8126-9556-9. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  8. 1 2 "1908 Naps Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  9. ↑ "1910 Naps Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  10. ↑ "1919 Indians Schedule, Box Scores, and Splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  11. ↑ "April 29, 1931 St. Louis Browns at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  12. ↑ "April 16, 1940 Cleveland Indians at Chicago White Sox Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ "April 30, 1946 Cleveland Indians at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  14. ↑ "July 10, 1947 Philadelphia Athletics at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  15. ↑ "June 30, 1948 Cleveland Indians at Detroit Tigers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  16. ↑ "July 1, 1951 Detroit Tigers at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  17. ↑ "June 10, 1966 Washington Senators at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  18. ↑ "July 19, 1974 Oakland Athletics at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  19. ↑ "May 30, 1977 California Angels at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  20. ↑ "May 15, 1981 Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
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