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The first seven weeks of the 2021 MLB season have been filled with pitching drama. Six hurlers have already thrown no-hitters.
Yankees starter Corey Kluber was the latest to etch his name into the stone slabs of baseball history, no-hitting the Rangers on May 19, the second time that Texas has been no-hit in 2021.
Kluber is another of some very unlikely names to enter history books in 2021, joining Padres starter Joe Musgrove, White Sox hurler Carlos Rodon, Baltimore’s John Means, Reds starter Wade Miley and Tigers starter Spencer Turnbull. The MLB record for no-hitters in a season is seven, meaning there’s a decent chance that more history could be made as the year wears on.
MORE: 10 single-season MLB feats we’ll never see again
There have been more than 215,000 games played in MLB history but there have been just over 300 no-hitters, meaning the members of the no-hit club are among some pretty elite company.
Who threw the last MLB no-hitter?
Continuing the year of the no-hitter, Yankees starter Corey Kluber was the most recent to enter his name into the history books, tossing a no-no vs. the Rangers on May 19.
Kluber is the first Yankee since David Cone in 1999 to throw a no-hitter, and it’s the franchise’s 12th no-hitter overall. Cone’s was a perfect game.
How many no-hitters have been thrown in 2021?
So far in 2021, there have been six no-hitters:
- The Padres’ Joe Musgrove kicked off no-no season on April 9 vs. the Rangers.
- White Sox starter Carlos Rodon downed division rival Cleveland on April 14.
- Baltimore hurler John Means no-hit the Mariners on May 5.
- Reds starter Wade Miley scribbled his name in the history books with the second no-hitter vs. Cleveland on May 7.
- The Tigers’ Spencer Turnbull no-hit Seattle on May 18, the second time the Mariners have been no-hit this season.
- Yankees right-hander Corey Kluber no-hit the Rangers the next night on May 19, the second time the Rangers have been no-hit this season.
The MLB record for no-hitters in a season (since 1900) is seven, which has happened four times: in 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015.
Who has thrown the most no-hitters in MLB history?
The nearly untouchable Nolan Ryan has a very untouchable record: He holds the MLB benchmark for most career no-hitters, with seven:
- May 7, 1973 vs. the Royals
- July 15, 1973 vs. the Tigers
- Sept. 28, 1974 vs. the Twins
- June 1, 1975 vs. the Orioles
- Sept. 26, 1981 vs. the Dodgers
- June 11, 1990 vs. the Rangers
- May 1, 1991 vs. the Blue Jays
Sandy Koufax (four), Cy Young (three), Bob Feller (three), Larry Corcoran (three) and Justin Verlander (three) have thrown more than two no-hitters in their career.
No-hitter vs. perfect game
A perfect game only occurs when the pitcher doesn’t allow a single baserunner in the game, as in 27 batters up and 27 batters down. In a no-hitter, baserunners are allowed, by walk, hit by pitch, error and so forth. Every perfect game is a no-hitter, but not every no-hitter is a perfect game.
Postseason no-hitters
In baseball history, there have only been two no-hitters thrown in the postseason.
The first was Don Larsen’s perfect game for the Yankees against the Dodgers on Oct. 8, 1956, in Game 5 of the World Series.
The late, great Hall of Famer Roy Halladay joined Larsen as the second man to throw a no-hitter in the postseason when he no-hit the Reds for the Phillies in the 2010 NLDS.
Most recent no-hitters
| Team | Pitcher | Date | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Edwin Jackson | June 25, 2010 | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Atlanta Braves | Kent Mercker | April 8, 1994 | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Baltimore Orioles | John Means | May 5, 2021 | Seattle Mariners |
| Boston Red Sox | Jon Lester | May 19, 2008 | Kansas City Royals |
| Chicago Cubs | Alec Mills | Sept. 13, 2020 | Milwaukee Brewers |
| Chicago White Sox | Carlos Rodon | April 14, 2021 | Cleveland |
| Cincinnati Reds | Wade Miley | May 7, 2021 | Cleveland |
| Cleveland Indians | Len Barker | May 15, 1981 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Colorado Rockies | Ubaldo Jimenez | April 17, 2010 | Atlanta Braves |
| Detroit Tigers | Spencer Turnbull | May 18, 2021 | Seattle Mariners |
| Houston Astros | Justin Verlander | Sept. 1, 2019 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Kansas City Royals | Brett Saberhagen | Aug. 26, 1991 | Chicago White Sox |
| Los Angeles Angels | Combined: Taylor Cole (2 IP) Félix Peña (7 IP) |
July 12, 2019 | Seattle Mariners |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Combined: Walker Buehler (6 IP) Tony Cingrani (1 IP) Yimi Garcia (1 IP) Adam Liberatore (1 IP) |
May 4, 2018 | San Diego Padres |
| Miami Marlins | Edinson Volquez | June 3, 2017 | Arizona Diamondbacks |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Juan Nieves | April 15, 1987 | Baltimore Orioles |
| Minnesota Twins | Francisco Liriano | May 3, 2011 | Chicago White Sox |
| New York Mets | Johan Santana | June 1, 2012 | St. Louis Cardinals |
| New York Yankees | Corey Kluber | May 19, 2021 | Texas Rangers |
| Oakland Athletics | Mike Fiers | May 7, 2019 | Cincinnati Reds |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Cole Hamels | July 25, 2015 | Chicago Cubs |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Combined: Francisco Cordova (9 IP) Ricardo Rincón (1 IP) |
July 12, 1997 | Houston Astros |
| San Diego Padres | Joe Musgrove | April 9, 2021 | Texas Rangers |
| San Francisco Giants | Chris Heston | June 9, 2015 | New York Mets |
| Seattle Mariners | James Paxton | May 8, 2018 | Toronto Blue Jays |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Bud Smith | Sept. 3, 2001 | San Diego Padres |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Matt Garza | July 26, 2010 | Detroit Tigers |
| Texas Rangers | Kenny Rogers | July 28, 1994 | California Angels |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Dave Stieb | Sept. 2, 1990 | Cleveland |
| Washington Nationals | Max Scherzer | Oct. 3, 2015 | New York Mets |
Bold lettering denotes a perfect game.
List of perfect games
Since 1903 — the World Series era — there have been 21 perfect games. There have been 23 perfectos total when factoring in pre-modern era play.
| Pitcher | Date | Team | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felix Hernandez | Aug. 15, 2012 | Seattle Mariners | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Matt Cain | June 13, 2012 | San Francisco Giants | Houston Astros |
| Philip Humber | Apr. 21, 2012 | Chicago White Sox | Seattle Mariners |
| Roy Halladay | May 29, 2010 | Philadelphia Phillies | Florida Marlins |
| Dallas Braden | May 9, 2010 | Oakland A’s | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Mark Buehrle | July 23, 2009 | Chicago White Sox | Tampa Bay Rays |
| Randy Johnson | May 18, 2004 | Arizona Diamondbacks | Atlanta Braves |
| David Cone | July 18, 1999 | New York Yankees | Montreal Expos |
| David Wells | May 17, 1998 | New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins |
| Kenny Rogers | July 28, 1994 | Texas Rangers | California Angels |
| Dennis Martinez | July 28, 1991 | Montreal Expos | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Tom Browning | Sept. 16, 1988 | Cincinnati Reds | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Mike Witt | Sept. 30, 1984 | California Angels | Texas Rangers |
| Len Barker | May 15, 1981 | Cleveland Indians | Toronto Blue Jays |
| Catfish Hunter | May 8, 1968 | Oakland A’s | Minnesota Twins |
| Sandy Koufax | Sept. 9, 1965 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Chicago Cubs |
| Jim Bunning | June 21, 1964 | Philadelphia Phillies | New York Mets |
| Don Larsen | Oct. 8, 1956 | New York Yankees | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Charlie Robertson | April 30, 1922 | Chicago White Sox | Detroit Tigers |
| Addie Joss | Oct. 2, 1908 | Cleveland Naps | Chicago White Sox |
| Cy Young | May 5, 1904 | Boston Americans | Philadelphia A’s |
| John Ward | June 17, 1880 | Providence Grays | Buffalo Bisons |
| Lee Richmond | June 12, 1880 | Worcester Ruby Legs | Cleveland Blues |
Don Larsen’s perfect game remains the only perfect game in postseason history.
No-hitters by team
| Team | Number of no-hitters |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 26 |
| Chicago White Sox | 20 |
| Boston Red Sox | 18 |
| San Francisco Giants | 17 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 17 |
| Chicago Cubs | 16 |
| Atlanta Braves | 14 |
| Cleveland Indians | 14 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 13 |
| Oakland Athletics | 13 |
| Houston Astros | 12 |
| New York Yankees | 12 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 11 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 9 |
| Detroit Tigers | 8 |
| Washington Nationals | 7 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 6 |
| Miami Marlins | 6 |
| Seattle Mariners | 6 |
| Baltimore Orioles (modern) | 6 |
| Minnesota Twins | 5 |
| Texas Rangers | 5 |
| Kansas City Royals | 4 |
| Louisville Colonels | 4 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 4 |
| Baltimore Orioles (old) | 3 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 2 |
| Buffalo Bisons | 2 |
| Columbus Buckeyes | 2 |
| Providence Grays | 2 |
| Brooklyn Tip-Tops | 1 |
| Chicago Chi-Feds/Whales | 1 |
| Cincinnati Outlaw Reds | 1 |
| Cleveland Blues | 1 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 1 |
| Colorado Rockies | 1 |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 1 |
| Kansas City Packers | 1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (old) | 1 |
| Milwaukee Brewers (modern) | 1 |
| New York Mets | 1 |
| Pittsburgh Rebels | 1 |
| Rochester Broncos | 1 |
| San Diego Padres | 1 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 1 |
Italic lettering indicates defunct/moved franchises.
SN’s Tom Gatto contributed to this report.
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