Baseball players make errors, they can go 0-4 with a couple of strikeouts, and yet teams still manage to win a lot of games when this happens. It takes a team effort to get no hit, every batter has to fail. Luckily most teams usually suffer through no hitters separated by several seasons. Since 1900(based on my crack research) a team has never been no hit 3x in a season, but 11 teams have been no hit twice in a season.
The last team to suffer 2 no hitters in the same year were the 2010 Tampa Bay Rays. They also managed to toss a no hitter of their own. For their troubles they went on to win the AL East with 96 wins. They lost to the Texas Rangers in the ALDS.
Joining the list are the 2001 Padres(79-83), the 1996 Rockies(83-79), the 1977 Angels(74-88) and the 1973 & 1967 Tigers. (85-77, 91-71) The 1971 Reds(79-83) were no hit twice in the month of June. The 1965 Cubs(72-90) are the 1st truly bad team on this list. Both no hitters were by a score of 1-0, with one of them being a Sandy Koufax perfect game.
The 1960 Phillies(59-95) suffered 2 no hitters at the hands of the Milwaukee Braves, one of only 2 teams to suffer double no-no’s against the same team.
The 1923 Philadelphia A’s(69-83) were no hit on 9/4 and again just 3 days later on 9/7.
Which brings us to the final team on our countdown. The 1917 Chicago White Sox remain the only team to get no hit on consecutive days, and to the same team.
On May 5, 1917 the forgettable Ernie Koob of the St. Louis Browns tossed a 1-0 no hitter against the White Sox. The very next day, the partially forgettable Bob Groom no hit the Sox 3-0. Bob Severeid took the loss in both games. Regrettably, the 2nd no hitter was pitched in the 2nd game of a double header, denying us back to back no hitters. Bob Groom actually pitched 2 innings of no hit ball in relief in game #1, giving him 11 no hit innings on the day.
Ernie Koob won just 6 games in 1917
Bob Groom won 24 games for the 1912 Washington Senators.
The 2nd no hitter dropped the White Sox season record to 11-10. The dominant St. Louis Browns went on to finish with a nifty 57-97 record.
The White Sox, with the help of a couple of decent players such as Eddie Collins, Buck Weaver, Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Red Faber, and Lefty Williams rebounded nicely finishing with a 100-54 record and a World Series victory over the NY Giants. Still the only World Series Champion to get no hit twice in their Championship season.
The cynical person that I am, wonders how this team could have been no hit at all, let alone on consecutive days to a terrible team? The cynical person that I am wonders if the early seeds of game throwing were being planted? Couldn’t have happened, could it? Things that make you go Hmmmmm.
Now that’s really interesting. I’d never heard that before, but certainly, gambling was a problem in baseball long before the Black Sox of 1919. It wouldn’t surprise me.
Cool stuff,
Bill
A terrible Browns team, dominates an all star White Sox lineup over 2 straight days, by itself is not really an anomoly. It happens all the time. But when it’s many of the same players that went on to throw a World Series????/ That gets my spider sense tingling.