Six no-hitters have been throw in MLB in 2021. They’re all pretty good but let’s rank them anyway
This has clearly been an unusual year in baseball. Just weeks into the 2021 MLB season, six (arguably seven) no-hitters have already been thrown.
It’s May 21.
Even weirder, the six official no-hitters have been thrown against just three teams: the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, and Cleveland Indians twice apiece.
Or maybe that’s not quite so strange. The Mariners (.198) are actually hitting beneath the Mendoza BADBAT Line. The Indians (.213) are not much above it themselves.
Oh, and Madison Bumgarner threw a no-hitter, too*
Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way before we even begin.
Arizona Diamondbacks starter Madison Bumgarner threw a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves on April 25.
MLB may not recognize it as such, but we do.
Bumgarner took the mound in a game scheduled to go for seven innings. He threw seven innings, a complete game, without allowing a hit.
How is that not a no-hitter? The game went the scheduled distance. Don’t blame us, MLB. You made the rules.
In any case, Bumgarner’s no-hitter would only rank as high as seventh-best by any objective measure because he only pitched seven innings, so we’ll just slot it in as honorable mention now — and for the rest of the year.
Bumgarner struck out seven and allowed no walks in the 7-0 victory.
This comes to a game score of 84, which is tied for the 18th best game pitched this year.
Game score is a statistic created by Bill James. The formula is relatively quick and easy to explain. Per MLB.com:
"• Start with 50 points • Add 1 point for each out recorded (or 3 points per inning) • Add 2 points for each inning completed after the fourth • Add 1 additional point for every strikeout • Remove 2 points for each hit allowed • Remove 4 points for each earned run allowed • Remove 2 points for each unearned run allowed • Remove 1 point for each walk allowed"