Cincinnati Reds History: Johnny Vander Meer’s Hitless Streak Ends
It was one of the greatest streaks any pitcher had ever been on. However, on this day in 1938, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer saw his string of hitless innings come to an end.
Whenever one talks about an unbreakable record in baseball, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Johnny Vander Meer is likely to come up. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to fire consecutive no hitters, a daunting task that not even the greatest pitchers in the game could accomplish. Yet, in his second major league season, for one stretch in June, Vander Meer was literally untouchable.
On this day in 1938, Vander Meer was coming off his second no hitter. Next up on the schedule for the sudden star was the Boston Bees, as the Braves were called back then. Even the great Cy Young wanted to watch Vander Meer pitch, as he was amongst the 30,613 in attendance that day in Boston.
While the Reds quickly jumped out on Ira Hutchinson and the Bees, knocking him out in the first inning. Cincinnati continued to pummel reliever Dick Errickson, jumping out to a comfortable 6-0 lead through the top of the third. However, all eyes were on Vander Meer, as the fans were waiting to see if his streak could continue.
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Meanwhile, as the Reds were pounding the Bees, Vander Meer was continuing to roll right along. Through the first three innings, he allowed just one walk, as Errickson was the Bees only baserunner. Although it was early in the game, thoughts of a third consecutive no hitter had begun.
Those hopes were shattered with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Debs Garms singled up the middle, ending his streak at 21.2 innings. Vander Meer would escape the inning unscathed, keeping his scoreless inning streak intact until he walked in a run in the bottom of the seventh. Eventually, he settled for a four hitter as the Reds took an easy 14-1 victory.
While his historical run came to an end, Vander Meer was not unhappy to see his streak come to an end. He admitted that the stress of his streak was getting to him, and was grateful for Garms getting that hit. As it was, losing the streak did not affect his performance, as Vander Meer went 7-0 throughout the month, posting a 1.46 ERA and firing six complete games in his seven outings.
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Johnny Vander Meer had one of the greatest runs of any pitcher in MLB history. On this day in 1938, the Cincinnati Reds pitcher saw his hitless streak come to an end, much to his relief.