No-Hitters in Postseason History

Pitchers have thrown only four no-hitters in professional baseball postseason history.

No-hitters are a rare phenomenon in professional baseball, and even rarer in the postseason. Only two no-hitters have ever been thrown in Major League Baseball postseason play, while two more were thrown in Negro League postseasons. One of the MLB no-hitters happened in a World Series, the MLB's championship played every year between the American League and National League champions.

No-Hitter vs. Perfect Game

A no-hitter occurs when a pitcher pitches a complete game, recording all 27 outs, without giving up a hit. On average, two no-hitters occur in each Major League Baseball season, which has more than 2,430 games. A perfect game is even rarer than a no-hitter. It occurs when a pitcher stays in the entire game and no opposing batters reach base by any means -- a hit, a walk, a hit-by-pitch or an error. A perfect game is always a no-hitter, but a no-hitter is usually not a perfect game.

Negro League No-Hitters

Two postseason no-hitters that are rarely remembered happened in the 1926 and 1927 Negro World Series. Claude "Red" Grier of the Atlantic City Bacharach Giants threw a no-hitter in his team's 10-0 Game 3 win in the 1926 Series over the Chicago American Giants. He walked five batters. The next year, the Bacharach Giants' Luther Farrell also pitched a no-hitter in the Negro World Series, also against the Chicago American Giants. He walked four batters, and his teammates committed four errors in the 3-2 Game 5 win. The Bacharach Giants lost both series.

Don Larsen

Yankees' pitcher Don Larsen's 1956 World Series perfect game was as unlikely a performance as it could have been. Just three days before his marvelous performance, he had started Game 2 of the Series and been knocked out of the game in the second inning after walking four Brooklyn Dodgers and seeing his team fall behind 2-0. In his next start, which was in Game 5 of the World Series, he retired all 27 batters he faced. The Yankees won the game 2-0 and went on to win the World Series. Larsen was named World Series MVP. It was clearly the brightest moment of Larsen's career. He finished with a career record of 81-91.

Roy Halladay

Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in his team's 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the 2010 National League Divisional Series, which the Phillies went on to win three games to none. He allowed one runner on an fifth-inning walk and struck out eight Reds. It was the sixth no-hitter thrown in that season and the second Halladay pitched that year. He had thrown a perfect game on May 29, 2010, in a 1-0 win over the Florida Marlins.

References

• Chance; Career Pitching Statistics and the Probability of Throwing a No-Hitter in MLB: A Case-Control Study; David McCarthy, et al.; September 2010
• Baseballguru.com; Negro League Thumb Nail bios; John B. Holway
• Theforgottenleagues.com: Atlantic City Bacharach Giants
• ESPN.com: MLB No-Hitters
• MLB.com; Doc's No-No Catches Larsen by Surprise; Spencer Fordin; October 7, 2010
• ESPN.com; Roy Halladay Throws Second No-Hitter in Postseason History; October 6, 2010