MLB: pitcher Ron Necciai and a feat never to be duplicated

Pittsburgh Pirates minor leaguer Ron Necciai had one of the most unbelievable stat lines possible, and it will never come close to being matched.

At the beginning of every professional football season, the 1972 Miami Dolphins collectively hold their breath until each of the thirty-two teams has lost a game for the first time. When this happens they breathe easy knowing no one will match their record of being undefeated for a season. For Ron Necciai, the first time he sees a batter ground out, line out, fly out, or get out other than a strikeout, he turns off the television.

There are a lot of baseball records that will not be touched for as long as the game is being played. I’m not even sure there is a possibility of certain records being broken. Cal Ripken and his 2,632 consecutive games streak, no one will ever get close. Joe DiMaggio‘s 56 game hitting streak. With the way the game has evolved, no one will get within fifteen games of this record.

Another one to add to the list, Ron Necciai and the 27 strikeout-no hitter he pitched in 1952. While throwing for a Pittsburgh Pirates Class D team, Necciai tossed a nine-inning, no hitter and struck out 27 guys, it is worth saying again.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of documented cases where this has happened before in little league games, high school games, maybe some legion games. Those are 15 and 21 outs respectively. Those are against amateur kids who are easy to overwhelm.

A no-hitter with twenty-seven strikeouts while facing other professional baseball talent. Never see it again.

Necciai was a man playing among boys that year in Bristol. In his six games, he was 4-0 with a 0.42 earned run average. Necciai averaged 22.8 strikeouts per nine innings. The guy was just mowing people down left and right.

After chewing through the minors Necciai earned a late season call up where he faced the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The dream season he was having at Bristol turned into a nightmarish season in the Majors.

The professional hitters in The Show are different than the professional hitters in D Ball. Necciai was just 20 years old though and maybe was brought along a little too fast. He finished 1-6 with a 7 ERA and arm troubles pushed him out of the game.

Ron Necciai was able to taste a cup of coffee in the Major Leagues and the pitching prowess he displayed in Bristol will remain untouched in the record books for a lifetime.