List of Oakland Athletics no-hitters

The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Oakland, California. They play in the American League West division. Also known in their early years as the “Philadelphia Athletics” (1901–54) and “Kansas City Athletics” (1954–67),^[1] pitchers for the Athletics have thrown eleven no-hitters in franchise history,^[2] five during the Philadelphia years and six after the move to Oakland but none during the Kansas City era. 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.”^[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] A no-hitter is rare enough that 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 pitched in Athletics history. 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 Catfish Hunter in 1968, which was the first perfect game in American League history since 1922, and Dallas Braden in 2010,^[5] which was the second perfect game in the majors – both against the same team – in ten months.

Weldon Henley threw the first no-hitter in Athletics history on July 22, 1905; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by Braden on May 9, 2010.^[5] Only two left-handed pitchers have threw no-hitters in franchise history and the other 8 pitchers were right-handed. Vida Blue is the only pitcher in Athletics history to have thrown more than one no-hitter in an Athletics uniform, include the starting pitcher in a combined no-hitter. Eight no-hitters were thrown at home and three on the road. They threw three in May, one in June, one in July, one in August, and five in September. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Bullet Joe Bush and Fowler, encompassing 29 years and 14 days from August 26, 1916 till September 9, 1945. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Fowler and Bill McCahan, encompassing merely 1 year and 359 days from September 9, 1945 till September 3, 1947.^[5] The Athletics have no-hit the Minnesota Twins (formerly “Washington Senators’) most often: three times by McCahan (in 1947), Hunter (in 1968), and Vida Blue (in 1970). None of those no-hitters saw the Athletics allow a run through a combination of errors, walks, hit by pitch or catcher’s interference. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was by Bush (in 1916), who allowed five. Of the eleven no-hitters, three have been won by a score of 3–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter were 6–0 wins by Henley in 1905 and Blue in 1970. The smallest margin of victory was a 1–0 win by Dick Fowler in 1945.

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] A different umpire presided over each of the Athletics’ eleven 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 contribute to a no-hitter. Seven different managers, such as Connie Mack who managed the team for 50 years, have involved in the Athletics’ eleven no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Athletics 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