MLB: Baseball’s unlikeliest no-hitters in recent history
By Tim Haberin
The no-hitter is near the pinnacle of individual pitching accomplishments, but the feat isn’t just reserved for all-time greats. Which MLB pitchers have surprised us over the past couple decades?
Edinson Volquez certainly raised a few eyebrows on Saturday night by tossing the first no-hitter of the 2017 MLB season. With all due respect to the veteran right-hander, he’s probably not the first pitcher most fans would expect to accomplish such a feat. Even Volquez’s most dedicated admirers would have to admit that while he’s had some nice seasons over the course of his 13-year career, he’s also been fairly erratic.
That’s what makes the no-hitter one of the most revered and fascinating achievements in baseball. While plenty of Hall of Famers and all-time great hurlers have held their opponents hitless over an entire game, there are more than a few journeymen, fresh-faced rookies and other assorted misfits who are also part of the club.
We don’t bat an eye at the fact that legends like Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Nolan Ryan threw no-hitters, but Edinson Volquez coming off a season in which he put up a 5.37 ERA? That’s baseball for you.
Sometimes a no-hitter just comes from the right person at the right time, however. Volquez’s special night came on the birthday of his late friend Yordano Ventura, and he dedicated his performance to him and Jose Fernandez. That’s a pretty amazing tribute.
Let’s take a look back at some of the more surprising no-hitters in recent memory. For the purposes of this list, we’re only considering regulation no-hitters thrown by a single pitcher. Perfect games are included. With 296 no-hitters in the record books, we’ll also be sticking to the past 20 years or so for the sake of scope.
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