No-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine complete innings recorded no hits. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is thereby said to have "thrown a no-hitter". In most cases, no-hitters are recorded by a single pitcher who throws a complete game; one thrown by two or more pitchers is a combined no-hitter.
A no-hitter is a rare accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff—only 326 have been thrown in MLB history since 1876, an average of about two per year. The most recent major league no-hitter, a combined no-hitter, was thrown by starter Shota Imanaga and relief pitchers Nate Pearson and Porter Hodge of the Chicago Cubs against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 4, 2024, while the most recent no-hitter by a single pitcher was thrown by Blake Snell of the San Francisco Giants against the Cincinnati Reds on August 2, 2024.
The MLB season with the most no-hit games was the season, in which nine official no-hitters were pitched. Additionally, two other games that year were pitched without giving up a hit, but were not official no-hitters because they were less than nine innings.
It is possible for a batter to reach base without a hit, most commonly by a walk, an error, or being hit by a pitch; other possibilities include the batter reaching first after an uncaught third strike or catcher's interference. A no-hitter in which no batters reach base at all is a perfect game, a much rarer feat. Because a batter can reach base by means other than a hit, a pitcher can throw a no-hitter and still give up runs or even lose the game, although this is extremely uncommon as most no-hitters are also shutouts. One or more runs were given up in 25 recorded no-hitters in MLB history, most recently by Ervin Santana of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 3–1 win against the Cleveland Indians on July 27, 2011. On two occasions, a team has thrown a nine-inning no-hitter and still lost the game. It is theoretically possible for opposing pitchers to throw no-hitters in the same game, although this has never happened in the major leagues. Two pitchers, Fred Toney and Hippo Vaughn, completed nine innings of a game on May 2, 1917, without either giving up a hit or a run; Vaughn gave up two hits and a run in the 10th inning, losing the game to Toney, who completed the extra-inning no-hitter.
Definition
A no-hitter is defined by MLB: "An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings." This 1991 definition by MLB's Committee for Statistical Accuracy caused previously recognized no-hitters of fewer than nine innings or where the first hit had been allowed in extra innings to be struck from the official record books. Games lost by the visiting team in innings but without allowing any hits do not qualify as no-hitters, as the visiting team has only pitched eight innings.Frequency
MLB has recognized 326 no-hitters thrown since 1876, 24 of which were perfect games. Two no-hitters have been thrown on the same day twice: Ted Breitenstein and Jim Hughes on April 22, 1898; and Dave Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela on June 29, 1990.Nine no-hitters were thrown in the 2021 season. The previous record was eight, set in 1884. The previous modern era record was seven, accomplished in 1990, 1991, 2012, and 2015.
The longest period between two no-hitters in the modern era was three years and 44 days, between Bobby Burke on August 8, 1931, and Paul "Daffy" Dean on September 21, 1934. There was a drought of three years and 11 months without a no-hitter between the first National League no-hitter on July 15, 1876 pitched by George Bradley and the first National League perfect game on June 12, 1880, pitched by Lee Richmond. The most recent year without any no-hitters was 2025.
The greatest span of games without a no-hitter in the major leagues is 6,364, between Randy Johnson's perfect game on May 18, 2004, for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Aníbal Sánchez's no-hitter on September 6, 2006, for the Florida Marlins. The previous record was a 4,015-game streak without a no-hitter between Mike Witt's perfect game on September 30, 1984 for the California Angels and Mike Scott's no-hitter on September 25, 1986 for the Houston Astros.
Individual
The pitcher who holds the record for the most no-hitters is Nolan Ryan, who threw seven in his 27-year career. His first two came exactly two months apart with the California Angels: the first on May 15, 1973, and the second on July 15. He had two more with the Angels on September 28, 1974, and June 1, 1975. Ryan's fifth no-hitter came with the Houston Astros on September 26, 1981, breaking Sandy Koufax's previous record. His sixth and seventh came with the Texas Rangers on June 1, 1990, and May 1, 1991. When he tossed number seven at age 44, he became the oldest pitcher to throw a no-hitter.Only Ryan, Koufax, Cy Young, Bob Feller, Larry Corcoran, and Justin Verlander have pitched more than two no-hitters. Corcoran was the first pitcher to throw a second no-hitter in a career, as well as the first to throw a third.
Thirty-six pitchers have thrown more than one no-hitter, combined no-hitters not counting. Ryan has the longest gap between no-hitters: he threw his first as a member of the Los Angeles Angels on May 15, 1973, and his last as a Texas Ranger on May 1, 1991.
The pitcher who holds the record for the shortest time between no-hitters is Johnny Vander Meer, the only pitcher in history to throw no-hitters in consecutive starts, while playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 1938. Besides Vander Meer, Allie Reynolds, Virgil Trucks, Ryan, and Max Scherzer were the only major leaguers to throw two no-hitters during the same regular season.
Jim Maloney also had two no-hitters under the old rules in the 1965 season, both of them taking extra innings. In the first one on June 14, he gave up a home run to Johnny Lewis to open the top of the 11th inning, turning 10 innings of no-hit ball into a 1–0 loss to the New York Mets. According to the rules at the time, this was considered a no-hitter. On August 19, a home run by Leo Cárdenas in the tenth inning allowed Maloney to earn a 1–0 10-inning no-hit win over the Chicago Cubs.
Roy Halladay threw two no-hitters in 2010– a perfect game during the regular season and a no-hitter in the 2010 National League Division Series. He is the only major leaguer to have thrown no-hitters in both regular season and postseason play.
Two pitchers missing their non-pitching hand have thrown no-hitters; Hugh Daily, of the Cleveland Blues, defeated the Philadelphia Quakers 1–0 on September 13, 1883, and Jim Abbott, of the New York Yankees, defeated the Cleveland Indians 4–0 on September 4, 1993. Daily lost his left hand in a gun accident as a child, and Abbott was born without a right hand.
The record for most no-hitters caught by a catcher is four, a record shared by Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek and Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz. Varitek caught no-hitters for Hideo Nomo, Derek Lowe, Clay Buchholz, and Jon Lester. Varitek also caught a rain-shortened, five-inning unofficial no-hitter for Devern Hansack on October 1, 2006. Ruiz caught two no-hitters for Roy Halladay, including a perfect game, as well as one for Cole Hamels, and a combined no-hitter for Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon. Before MLB redefined "no-hitter", Ray Schalk had long held the record by catching four no-hitters, but his first nine-inning no-hitter had ended with a hit in the tenth inning. Victor Caratini is the only player to catch consecutive no-hitters with two different teams, and the tenth to catch consecutive no-hitters at all. The first came on September 13, 2020, with the Chicago Cubs, and the second on April 9, 2021, with the San Diego Padres.
The record for the most modern-day no-hitters participated in belongs to Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros, who has played in no-hitters thrown by Mike Fiers, Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez, and Ronel Blanco, along with three combined no-hitters and Matt Cain's perfect game.
Five pitchers have thrown a no-hitter in both the American League and the National League: Young, Ryan, Jim Bunning, Nomo, and Randy Johnson. Only five catchers have caught a no-hitter in each league: Gus Triandos, Jeff Torborg, Darrell Porter, Ron Hassey, and most recently, Drew Butera. Triandos caught Hoyt Wilhelm's 1958 no-hitter and Jim Bunning's perfect game, Torborg caught Koufax's perfect game and Ryan's first no-hitter, Porter caught Jim Colborn's 1977 no-hitter and Bob Forsch's second no-hitter in 1983, and Hassey caught Len Barker's and Dennis Martínez's perfect games. Butera caught a 2011 no-hitter by Francisco Liriano and a 2014 no-hitter by Josh Beckett.
Team
No team has thrown no-hitters in consecutive games, although it has happened once on consecutive days: On May 5, 1917, Ernie Koob of the St. Louis Browns no-hit the Chicago White Sox, and teammate Bob Groom repeated the feat in the second game of a doubleheader the following day.On two occasions, there have been back-to-back no-hitters thrown by each team in a series. On September 17, 1968, Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cardinals' Ray Washburn no-hit the Giants the following day. On April 30, 1969, Jim Maloney of the Cincinnati Reds no-hit the Houston Astros, and the Astros' Don Wilson no-hit the Reds the following day. Surprisingly, it was both Maloney's and Wilson's second no-hitter in their careers.
Teams have thrown two straight no-hitters, with no other teams pitching one in the interim, 20 times; most recently by the Houston Astros. The only team to throw three straight no-hitters was the Milwaukee Braves, with Lew Burdette, followed by consecutive no-no's by Warren Spahn, in 1960 and 1961. Individual pitchers have thrown two straight no-hitters seven times: Addie Joss 1908 and 1910; Vander Meer in 1938; Allie Reynolds in 1951; Warren Spahn in 1960 and 1961; Ryan twice, first in 1973, then in 1974 and 1975; and Homer Bailey in 2012 and 2013. All seven instances were with the same team.
The Cleveland Guardians are the only team to be no-hit three times in a single season, doing so in 2021. They were no-hit by Carlos Rodón of the Chicago White Sox on April 14, 2021. They then failed to record a hit against the Cincinnati Reds' Wade Miley on May 7, 2021. Finally, they were held hitless by Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader of the Milwaukee Brewers on September 11, 2021. Remarkably, Zach Plesac was the Guardians' pitcher for all three no-hitters. In addition to these official no-hitters, the Guardians also failed to record a hit against the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a doubleheader on July 7, 2021. This is not considered an official no-hitter because the game only lasted seven innings.