List of Detroit Tigers no-hitters

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Detroit, Michigan. They play in the American League Central division. Pitchers for the Tigers have thrown seven no-hitters in franchise history.[1] 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."[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 common enough that only one team in Major League Baseball has never had a pitcher accomplish the feat.[a] A perfect game, a special subcategory of no-hitter, has yet to be thrown in Tigers history. As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."[2] This feat came closest on June 2, 2010 when Armando Galarraga lost his perfect game bid against the Cleveland Indians with two outs in the ninth due to the incorrect call made by a first base umpire Jim Joyce.[4] But there are two other times when the Tigers perfect game bids were lost with two outs in the ninth, one in 1932 and the other in 1983. The Tigers lead all franchises with three perfect game bids lost with two outs in the ninth.

George Mullin threw the first no-hitter in Tigers history on July 4, 1912; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by Justin Verlander on May 7, 2011.[4] All seven Tigers no-hitters were thrown by right-handers. Virgil Trucks and Verlander are the only pitchers in Tigers history to throw more than one no-hitter. Three no-hitters were thrown at home and four on the road. They threw one in April, two in May, one in June, two in July, and one in August. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Mullin and Trucks, encompassing 39 years, 10 months, and 11 days from July 4, 1912 till May 15, 1952. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the both games pitched by Trucks, encompassing merely 3 months and 10 days from May 15, 1952 till August 25, 1952.[4] The opponents no-hit by the Tigers are St. Louis Browns (now Baltimore Orioles), Washington Senators (now Minnesota Twins), New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays. None of those no-hitters which the team allowed at least a run. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter were by Trucks (his first no-hitter in 1952) and Morris (in 1984), who each allowed six. Of the seven no-hitters, two have been won by a score of 1–0 and two by the score of 4–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter was a 9–0 win by Verlander in 2011. The smallest margin of victory was two 1–0 wins by Trucks both in 1952.

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 the "area over home plate 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 Tigers' seven 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. 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. Jim Leyland is the only Tigers manager to skipper more than one no-hitter, being at the helm for both of Verlander's.

List of no-hitters in Tigers 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 July 4, 1912 Mullin, GeorgeGeorge Mullin 7–0 2 St. Louis Browns Stanage, OscarOscar Stanage Dinneen, BillBill Dinneen Jennings, HughieHughie Jennings [7]
2 May 15, 1952 Trucks, VirgilVirgil Trucks (1) 1–0 6 Washington Senators Ginsberg, JoeJoe Ginsberg Honochick, JimJim Honochick Rolfe, RedRed Rolfe
  • Smallest margin of victory in a Tigers no-hitter (tie)
  • Most baserunners allowed in a Tigers no-hitter (tie)
  • Longest interval between no-hitters in franchise history
 [8]
3 August 25, 1952 Trucks, VirgilVirgil Trucks (2) 1–0 3 @ New York Yankees Batts, MattMatt Batts Robb, ScottyScotty Robb Hutchinson, FredFred Hutchinson
  • Smallest margin of victory in a Tigers no-hitter (tie)
  • First Tigers no-hitter on the road
  • Shortest interval between no-hitters in franchise history
  • Latest calendar date of Tigers no-hitter
  • Trucks pitched two no-hitters in same season despite finishing the season 5–19 but with a 3.97 ERA
 [9]
4 July 20, 1958 Bunning, JimJim Bunning* 3–0 3 @ Boston Red Sox Wilson, RedRed Wilson Umont, FrankFrank Umont Norman, BillBill Norman
  • First game of a doubleheader
 [10]
5 April 7, 1984 Morris, JackJack Morris 4–0 6 @ Chicago White Sox Parrish, LanceLance Parrish Merrill, DurwoodDurwood Merrill Anderson, SparkySparky Anderson
  • Most baserunners allowed in a Tigers no-hitter (tie)
  • Earliest calendar date of Tigers no-hitter
 [11]
6 June 12, 2007 Verlander, JustinJustin Verlander (1) 4–0 4 Milwaukee Brewers Rodríguez, IvánIván Rodríguez Kulpa, RonRon Kulpa Leyland, JimJim Leyland (1) [12]
7 May 7, 2011 Verlander, JustinJustin Verlander (2) 9–0 1 @ Toronto Blue Jays Avila, AlexAlex Avila Meals, JerryJerry Meals Leyland, JimJim Leyland (2)
  • Most recent no-hitter in franchise history
  • Largest margin of victory in a Tigers no-hitter
 [13]

See also

Footnotes

References

  1. ↑ "Detroit Tigers Franchise History". ESPN. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  3. ↑ Kurkjian, Tim (June 29, 2008). "No-hit win makes no sense, except in baseball". ESPN. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 "Detroit Tigers". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Umpires: Rules of Interest". MLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  6. ↑ Bronson, Eric. Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box, Pgs 98–99. ISBN 0-8126-9556-9. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ "1912 Tigers season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  8. ↑ "May 15, 1952 Washington Senators at Detroit Tigers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  9. ↑ "August 25, 1952 Detroit Tigers at New York Yankees Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  10. ↑ "July 20, 1958 Detroit Tigers at Boston Red Sox Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  11. ↑ "April 7, 1984 Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  12. ↑ "June 12, 2007 Milwaukee Brewers at Detroit Tigers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  13. ↑ "May 7, 2011 Detroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
  14. ↑ "No Hitters Chronologically". Retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
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