Clay's Place In No-Hitter History

by Texas Gal, Center Field

Following on the heels of Clay Buchholz's no-hitter for the Red Sox on Saturday (in just his second major league start), the spotlight has never burned brighter on the rookie phenom. But where does Clay's no-hitter place him in the baseball record books?

The Red Sox backed up Buchholz with 10 runs, but the most runs scored in an AL no-hitter occurred on this very day back in 1905, when Chicago White Sox pitcher Frank Smith no-hit the Detroit Tigers while his teammates notched 15 runs against them. That game holds the record for the most lopsided margin of victory for the AL; the NL record is held by James Francis "Pud" Galvin and the Buffalo Bisons who won 18-0 in Pud's no-hitter in 1884 -- also over Detroit (the Wolverines). Pud earned himself a whopping $2,000 salary from the Bisons that year.

One of the most amazing parts of Buchholz's no-hitter is that it was only his second outing in the big leagues. Only one other pitcher accomplished the same feat since 1900: Wilson Alvarez no-hit the Baltimore Orioles in 1991 in just his second start for the Chicago White Sox. But Alva Lee "Bobo" Holloman did one better than both Buchholz and Alvarez-- he pitched a no-hitter for the St. Louis Browns against the Philadelphia Athletics in 1953... in his very first major league start.

Jason Varitek caught the no-hitter for Buchholz, the third no-hitter he's caught in his career so far (including Hideo Nomo in 2001, and Derek Lowe in 2002). That gives Varitek the record among currently active catchers for most no-hitters caught. The catcher with the most no-hitters caught all-time? Ray Schalk (nickname: "The Cracker") caught four no-hitters for the Chicago White Sox (1914 (2), 1917 & 1922)- although his first supposed no-hitter, legit at the time, has since been ruled out because there were two hits in the 10th inning of that game. So 'Tek is now officially tied with the rest of the group of catcher who have caught 3 no-hitters for the all-time lead. Wonder if he can notch up a fourth, and take over the top spot...

Arguably the strangest no-hitter in Red Sox history happened back in 1917, when Babe Ruth walked the first batter for the Washington Senators on four called balls. Ruth took issue with the strike zone and expressed his displeasure to the home plate ump, Brick Owens, after each ball- by giving him dirty looks and yelling. After Owens issued the base-on-balls, Ruth escalated his method of communicating displeasure and punched the home plate umpire square in the jaw-- and was immediately ejected from the game. Ernie Shore came in to relieve Ruth... and promptly picked off the baserunner before even throwing a pitch. Shore proceeded to retire the next twenty-six batters in a row for the combined no-hitter (even though Ruth officially had a 0.0 IP). The game was considered a perfect game until an MLB rules committee met and changed the rule in 1991, ruling that when the first batter reached base it was no longer a perfect outing.

The Babe and Ernie aren't the only group who have teamed up to throw a no-hitter. More recently, six Houston Astros pitchers combined to no-hit the Sox' hated rival New York Yankees in 2003: Roy Oswalt, Peter Munro, Kirk Saarloos, Brad Lidge, Octavio Dotel and Billy Wagner. That was the first time the Yankees had been no-hit since 1958, and is also last time the Yankees have been no-hit since then. The last time the Sox were no-hit? 1993, by Mariners pitcher Chris Bosio.

As successful as the Yankees have been at avoiding the no-hitter, the Mets have been just as "successful" in their failure to notch up a no-hitter. Since the formation of the club in 1962, not a single New York Met has thrown a no-hitter for the team. According to Michael Huber of Muhlenberg College and Andrew Glen of the U.S. Military Academy, the odds of throwing a no-hitter in any given game are .0013. So that means the odds of the Mets failing to no-hit a team a single time in the last 45 years is about 10,000-to-1.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, now lead the AL in all-time no-hitters thrown with 17, thanks to Buchholz's outing (passing the Chicago White Sox, who have 16 total). Neither Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez nor Curt Schilling are on that list- none of those Red Sox legends threw a no-hitter for the club. Does that mean Clay gets the prime locker space in the clubhouse now?

Sources: MLB, Baseball Almanac, Boston Red Sox