Welcome to Snyder's Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it's free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you'll get smarter, though. That's a money-back guarantee. Let's get to it.
In an extended weekend loaded with really cool sports events, Memorial Day was capped off by an MLB no-hitter. Hey, that's cool, right?
Eh.
It was a combined no-hitter in which three Astros pitchers toed the slab. It was the first MLB no-hitter since September of 2024, but I just can't get excited about a combined no-no.
Was it really even the best outing of the day by a starting pitcher? Astros starter Tatsuya Imai worked six scoreless innings. He also walked four batter and only struck out two. Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski, meanwhile, gave up two hits in seven innings and struck out 12 against the Cardinals while throwing 57 pitches that were at least 100 miles per hour. Gimme that outing.
I'm self-aware enough to realize that I've been a scrooge about no-hitters over the years. We've now seen 327 in MLB history. Given the number of MLB games played, that's still a very rare feat. I get it. Especially for those fans in person, it's a thrill to see something historic like that.
I've been in person for a combined no-hitter in the World Series. I gotta say, it was not one of my favorite World Series moments. It was cool. Somewhat. I guess.
Once the starter exits the game, though, the historical aspect just melts away for me. Relievers are fresh. The hitters haven't yet seen their stuff in this game, giving them a bit of an advantage. One of the main reasons a starter completing a no-hitter is so cool is because it's so difficult. In this day and age, where the league batting average is .239, is it really that difficult for a reliever to get three outs without allowing a hit?
No. The answer is no. The feat is a starting pitcher getting to 27 outs. Once he's out of the game, we need to stop awarding it a historical crown.
Remember in 2020 -- sorry for bringing that year up -- when doubleheaders were only seven innings? The office of the commissioner officially noted that a seven-inning no-hitter didn't count as an official no-hitter. Keep in mind that on Monday night, Imai only completed six innings in his start. Just as an example, Madison Bumgarner allowed zero hits through seven innings in a complete game in 2020. That doesn't count as a no-hitter, but Imai now has a "no-hitter" on his ledger.
Really?
I'm not suggesting the seven-inning no-hitters from 2020 need to count, but this is a good place to start in getting all 22 of the combined no-hitters in MLB thrown out of the record books.
A no-hitter should be a starting pitcher completing the job without allowing a hit. Full stop. Once the starter is removed from the game, we're done monitoring whether or not the team allows a hit.
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