2021 No. 1 ranked no-hitter: John Means vs. Seattle Mariners, May 5
John Means threw MLB’s best no-hitter (so far) of 2021 on May 5 against the Seattle Mariners. And what a performance it was.
The Baltimore Orioles starter carved up the Mariners, facing the minimum possible 27 batters.
It wasn’t a perfect game — but you can’t really blame Means for that one. Sam Haggerty reached first base on a strikeout after O’s catcher Pedro Severino couldn’t field the ball cleanly in the third inning.
Getting a bit greedy, Haggerty attempted to steal second and Severino got a little revenge by throwing him out.
After that, Means sent the next 19 Mariners batters back to the dugout unsuccessful.
For the game, he struck out 12 and walked none. His game score came in a crisp 99, the highest since 29 pitchers eclipsed the 100 marker in 2019.
So, that’s really, really good.
It put him in elite company in the Orioles franchise as well. The club’s last no-hitter was thrown by Jim Palmer in 1969.
John Means no-hitter video highlights
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All no-hitters are great. When you hear a no-hitter alert, you go to your nearest television and try to find the game.
One, six, seven, it doesn’t matter.
Each of them is wonderful in their own special way, and meaningful to their fan bases. If you want to rank your own team’s performance No. 1, you’ll find no complaint here. That’s what makes baseball great.
But, just for the record, Means had the No. 1 best no-hitter of 2021 (so far) and that’s not changing any time soon.
Still, you might want to check back tomorrow, just in case.