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Miami Marlins: Two no-nos, comebacks for ex-Fish Alvarez, Volquez

By Sean Millerick

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 29: Henderson Alvarez #37 of the Miami Marlins pitches during an MLB game against the Detroit Tigers at Marlins Park on September 29, 2013 in Miami, Florida. Alvarez pitched a no-hitter on a walk-off wild pitch. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 29: Henderson Alvarez #37 of the Miami Marlins pitches during an MLB game against the Detroit Tigers at Marlins Park on September 29, 2013 in Miami, Florida. Alvarez pitched a no-hitter on a walk-off wild pitch. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images) /
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A general view of the home of the Miami Marlins, Marlins Park.(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
A general view of the home of the Miami Marlins, Marlins Park.(Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Responsible for the last two no-hitters in Miami Marlins history, pitchers Henderson Alvarez and Edinson Volquez are both on the comeback trail.

Most MLB teams that had two pitchers throw no-hitters in the last seven years probably still have one of those arms on the roster. Then again, most MLB teams aren’t the Miami Marlins.

If for no other reason than making New York Mets fans miserable, one of my favorite factoids about the Miami Marlins remains the fact that in less than thirty years of existence, they have compiled a staggering six no-hitters.  Quite the track record for that stretch of time. In fact, it’s more than the amount produced by MLB’s three other expansion teams (Colorado, Arizona, and Tampa) combined. And it’s much better than the solitary no-hitter churned out by the Mets in nearly sixty years of existence.

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But the thing with Miami Marlins no-hitters, ever since Kevin Brown was one hit batter away from perfection in 1997, is they tend to come out of nowhere.

If the average baseball fan were given six guesses to name the six Marlins to have pulled off the feat, they’d likely only end up naming up Brown. Maybe Al Leiter, who delivered the first, on account of his television career. Livan Hernandez, Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Jose Fernandez? Not a Marlin no-no among them. Josh Johnson came maddeningly close multiple times, but to no avail.

Instead, A.J. Burnett ended up becoming the poster boy of effectively wild in 2001 and makes every shortlist of ugliest no-hitters of all-time. Anibal Sanchez broke a two year MLB drought in 2006. Although, Burnett at least was regarded as an electric talent, and Sanchez was authoring a Rookie of the Year campaign for a team full of players making them.

The last two names to achieve the feat, some Marlins fans might even struggle with: Henderson Alvarez and Edinson Volquez.

Much of that mystery has a simple explanation: with the exception of 16 sporadic innings from Volquez, neither player has pitched in the majors since 2017.

However, both find themselves on the comeback trail as baseball finally resumes. In honor of these former Marlins, let’s take a brief look back at their somewhat forgotten no-hitters, their time in Miami, and where their comebacks stand heading into 2020.

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