Tag: Harvey Haddix

A STORY FROM MAY 1 IN BASEBALL HISTORY – ASTROS TURN THE TABLES ON REDS

TODAYINBASEBALL.com TAKES US TO CINCINNATI, OHIO MAY 1, 1969? On April 30 Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jim Maloney no-hit the Houston Astros 10 to nothing. The next day, May 1, 1969, Astros’ starter Don Wilson turned the tables on the Reds. He no-hit them. What are the odds?

No-hitters are significant accomplishments, but they aren’t unheard of. There have been over 300 in the modern era — since 1901. That’s almost two per season.

Here are a few rarer events than a no-hitter:

  • Two no-hitters on the same day – June 29, 1990. Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays. A couple hours later the Dodgers‘ Fernando Valenzuela no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals.
  • In 1959, Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates not only had a no-hitter for 12 innings, he had a perfect game. He lost the perfecto, the no-hitter and the game in the 13th inning. [Look for story May 26th]
  • In 1990 Andy Hawkins of the New York Yankees pitched a no-hitter and lost 4-0 when the Chicago White Sox took advantage of Yankee errors. Initially Hawkins got credit for a no-hitter. Later Major League Baseball changed the criteria and took away Hawkins’ no-hitter because it didn’t go a full 9 innings. It only went 8 and a half because the home team White Sox were ahead and didn’t bat in the ninth.

The  rarest of them all may be the Astros turning the tables on he Reds. Houston no-hit the Reds, the day after the Reds no-hit Houston.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 2, 1969
Retrosheet’s no-hitters and stuff

MAY 26 – The greatest pitching performance

*1959 | MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN – What a shame! Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates took a perfect game against the Milwaukee Braves into the 13th inning on this date in 1959 – no runs, no hits, no walks, no hit-by-pitch, no nothin’.

Up until the 13th, Haddix retired every single batter, but before the inning was over he would lose the game, the perfect game and the no-hitter, 1-0.

Talk about records that may never be broken, Haddix pitched a perfect game for 12 innings! No one had ever done more than 9.

The Pirates had 12 hits that night, including one by Haddix himself, but they couldn’t muster a single run for the guy on the mound.

Haddix lost the perfect game when his 3rd baseman Don Hoak committed an error. He lost the no-hitter when Braves’ first baseman Joe Adcock doubled. He lost the game when Felix Mantilla scored from second on Adcock’s double, and the run wasn’t even earned. The game went 13 innings, but only took 2 hours and 54 minutes. Of course, there wasn’t much scoring and no pitching changes.

Did you know that the Pirates had 12 hits that night, including one by Haddix himself, but they couldn’t muster a single run for the guy on the mound?

There was another interesting thing that happened that night, Braves slugger Eddie Matthews laid down a sacrifice bunt in the 13th inning to get Mantilla to second. When’s the last time you saw a slugger (he hit over 500 home runs) lay down a sacrifice bunt – successfully at that!

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
May 26, 1959 Box score
The Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 27, 1959