List of Los Angeles Dodgers no-hitters
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball franchise currently based in Los Angeles. They play in the National League West division. The franchise joined the American Association in 1884 as the "Brooklyn Atlantics". They have been known in their early years as the "Brooklyn Grays" (1885–87), "Brooklyn Bridegrooms" (1888–90, 1896–98), "Brooklyn Grooms" (1891–95), "Brooklyn Superbas" (1899–1910, 1913), "Brooklyn Robins" (1914–31), and "Brooklyn Dodgers" (1911–12, 1932–57).[1] There have been 20 pitchers for the Dodgers that have thrown 25 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] A no-hitter is common enough that only one team in Major League Baseball has never had a pitcher accomplish the feat.[a]
There has been one perfect game thrown by a Dodgers pitcher. A perfect is defined by Major League Baseball as occurring "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. In a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."[3] This feat was achieved by Sandy Koufax on September 9, 1965. It was Koufax's fourth career no-hitter, and is the franchise record for no-hitters by one pitcher. At the time, Koufax's four no-hitters was the major league record for any pitcher, but it was later surpassed in 1981 by Nolan Ryan.
Sam Kimber threw the first no-hitter in Dodgers history on October 4, 1884, which ended as a scoreless tie after ten innings.[5] The most recent no-hitter thrown by a Dodgers pitcher was on June 18, 2014 by Clayton Kershaw.[5] Five of the 20 pitchers were left-handed pitchers, 14 were right-handed, and one, Tom Lovett, is still unknown. In addition to Koufax, two other Dodgers pitcher have thrown multiple no-hitters, Adonis Terry and Carl Erskine. 18 of the no-hitters were thrown at home and seven on the road. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Hideo Nomo and Josh Beckett, encompassing 17 years and 250 days from September 17, 1996 until May 25, 2014. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Beckett and Clayton Kershaw, encompassing merely 24 days from May 25, 2014 until June 18, 2014. The San Francisco Giants (formerly "New York Giants") have been no-hit six times, the most by any Dodgers opponent. Dazzy Vance is the only Dodgers no-hit pitcher to have allowed at least one run. The most baserunners allowed in any of these game were by Terry (in 1886) and Koufax (in 1962), who each allowed five. Of the 25 no-hitters, five have been won by a score of 5–0 and four by the score of 3–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter was a 9–0 win by Hideo Nomo in 1996 and a 10–1 win by Vance in 1925. The smallest margins of victory were 1–0 wins by Terry in 1888 and Koufax in 1965.
The umpire is 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] There have been 24 different home plate umpires who have called Dodgers no-hitters; Babe Pinelli is the only umpire to have called two.
List of no-hitters in Dodgers 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 | October 4, 1884 | Sam Kimber | 0–0 (10) | 4 | Toledo Blue Stockings | Jack Corcoran | John Dyler | George Tayor |
|
[8] |
2 | July 24, 1886 | Adonis Terry (1) | 4–0 | 5 | St. Louis Browns | Jimmy Peoples (1) | Mike Walsh | Charlie Byrne | [9] | |
3 | May 27, 1888 | Adonis Terry (2) | 1–0 | 1 | Louisville Colonels | Jimmy Peoples (2) | Herm Doscher | Bill McGunnigle |
|
[10] |
4 | June 22, 1891 | Tom Lovett | 4–0 | 1 | New York Giants | Con Daily | Jack McQuaid | Monte Ward | [11] | |
5 | July 20, 1906 | Mal Eason | 2–0 | 2 | @ St. Louis Cardinals | Lew Ritter | Bill Carpenter | Patsy Donovan (1) |
|
[12] |
6 | September 5, 1908 | Nap Rucker£ | 6–0 | 3 | Boston Doves | Bill Bergen | Jim Johnstone | Patsy Donovan (2) |
|
[13] |
7 | September 13, 1925 | Dazzy Vance* | 10–1 | 1 | Philadelphia Phillies | Hank DeBerry | Cy Pfirman | Wilbert Robinson |
|
[14] |
8 | April 30, 1940 | Tex Carleton | 3–0 | 3 | @ Cincinnati Reds | Herman Franks | Bill Stewart | Leo Durocher (1) | [15] | |
9 | April 23, 1946 | Ed Head | 5–0 | 3 | Boston Braves | Ferrell Anderson | Babe Pinelli (1) | Leo Durocher (2) |
|
[16] |
10 | September 9, 1948 | Rex Barney | 2–0 | 2 | @ New York Giants | Bruce Edwards | Babe Pinelli (2) | Leo Durocher (3) |
|
[17] |
11 | June 19, 1952 | Carl Erskine (1) | 5–0 | 1 | Chicago Cubs | Roy Campanella (1) | Jocko Conlan | Chuck Dressen | [18] | |
12 | May 12, 1956 | Carl Erskine (2) | 3–0 | 2 | New York Giants | Roy Campanella (2) | Augie Donatelli | Walter Alston (1) | [19] | |
13 | September 25, 1956 | Sal Maglie | 5–0 | 3 | Philadelphia Phillies | Roy Campanella (3) | Hal Dixon | Walter Alston (2) |
|
[20] |
14 | June 30, 1962 | Sandy Koufax£* (1) | 5–0 | 5 | New York Mets | Johnny Roseboro (1) | Mel Steiner | Walter Alston (3) |
|
[21] |
15 | May 11, 1963 | Sandy Koufax£* (2) | 8–0 | 2 | San Francisco Giants | Johnny Roseboro (2) | Harry Wendelstedt | Walter Alston (4) | [22] | |
16 | June 4, 1964 | Sandy Koufax£* (3) | 3–0 | 1 | @ Philadelphia Phillies | Doug Camilli | Al Forman | Walter Alston (5) |
|
[23] |
17 | September 9, 1965 | Sandy Koufax£¶* (4) | 1–0 | 0 | Chicago Cubs | Jeff Torborg (1) | Ed Vargo | Walter Alston (6) |
|
[24] |
18 | July 20, 1970 | Bill Singer | 5–0 | 3 | Philadelphia Phillies | Jeff Torborg (2) | Ed Sudol | Walter Alston (7) |
|
[25] |
19 | June 27, 1980 | Jerry Reuss£ | 8–0 | 1 | @ San Francisco Giants | Steve Yeager | Jim Quick | Tom Lasorda (1) |
|
[26] |
20 | June 29, 1990 | Fernando Valenzuela£ | 6–0 | 3 | St. Louis Cardinals | Mike Scioscia (1) | Jerry Layne | Tom Lasorda (2) |
|
[27] |
21 | August 17, 1992 | Kevin Gross | 2–0 | 3 | San Francisco Giants | Mike Scioscia (2) | Mike Winters | Tom Lasorda (3) | [28] | |
22 | July 14, 1995 | Ramón Martínez | 7–0 | 1 | Florida Marlins | Mike Piazza (1) | Eric Gregg | Tom Lasorda (4) |
|
[29] |
23 | September 17, 1996 | Hideo Nomo | 9–0 | 4 | @ Colorado Rockies | Mike Piazza (2) | Bill Hohn | Bill Russell |
|
[30] |
24 | May 25, 2014 | Josh Beckett | 6–0 | 3 | @ Philadelphia Phillies | Drew Butera | Brian Knight | Don Mattingly (1) |
|
[31] |
25 | June 18, 2014 | Clayton Kershaw£ | 8–0 | 1 | Colorado Rockies | A. J. Ellis | Greg Gibson | Don Mattingly (2) |
|
[32] |
Footnotes
- a The only team without a no-hitter in franchise history is the San Diego Padres.
References
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Franchise History". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Kurkjian, Tim (June 29, 2008). "No-hit win makes no sense, except in baseball". ESPN. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "No Hitters Chronologically". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ a b "Umpires: Rules of Interest". MLB.com. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
- ^ Bronson, Pgs. 98−99
- ^ "The National Game". The Sun (New York). October 5, 1884.
- ^ "In The Base Ball Field". The Sun (New York). July 25, 1886.
- ^ "A Big Day For Terry". The Sun (New York). May 28, 1888.
- ^ "Not Even A Base Hit". The Sun (New York). June 23, 1891.
- ^ "National League". The Minneapolis Journal. July 21, 1906.
- ^ "National League". The San Francisco Call. September 6, 1908.
- ^ "September 13, 1925 Philadelphia Phillies at Brooklyn Robins Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "April 30, 1940 Brooklyn Dodgers at Cincinnati Reds Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "April 23, 1946 Boston Braves at Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "September 9, 1948 Brooklyn Dodgers at New York Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "June 19, 1952 Chicago Cubs at Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "May 12, 1956 New York Giants at Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "September 25, 1956 Philadelphia Phillies at Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "June 15, 1963 New York Mets at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "May 11, 1963 San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "June 4, 1964 Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "September 9, 1965 Chicago Cubs at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "July 20, 1970 Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "June 27, 1980 Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "June 29, 1990 St. Louis Cardinals at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "August 17, 1992 San Francisco Giants at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "July 14, 1995 Florida Marlins at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "September 17, 1996 Los Angeles Dodgers at Colorado Rockies Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
- ^ "May 25, 2014 Los Angeles Dodgers at Philadelphia Phillies Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ^ "June 18, 2014 Colorado Rockies at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 19, 2014.
Bibliography
- Bronson, Eric (2004). Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box. Publishers Group West. ISBN 9780812695564.