List of San Francisco Giants no-hitters

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball franchise based in San Francisco, California. They play in the National League West division. Also known in their early years as the "New York Gothams" (1883–84) and "New York Giants" (1885–1957),[1] pitchers for the Giants have thrown 17 no-hitters in franchise history.[2] A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings".[3] No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form.[4] A no-hitter is rare enough that one team in Major League Baseball has still never had a pitcher accomplish the feat,[notes 1] and teams may go decades without recording one. A perfect game, a special subcategory of no-hitter, was finally thrown by Matt Cain on June 13, 2012. As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."[3] Previously, this feat came closest on July 4, 1908 when Hooks Wiltse was hit by a pitch with two outs in the ninth and a scoreless tie. The plate umpire, Cy Rigler, claimed he should have called the previous pitch strike three, that would have ended the inning with a perfection. Wiltse would go on to retire all three in the tenth to end the game after the Giants scored a run in the top of the tenth.

Amos Rusie threw the first no-hitter in Giants history on July 31, 1891; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by Chris Heston on June 9, 2015.[5][6][7] Five left-handed pitchers have thrown no-hitters in franchise history. The other ten pitchers were right-handers, including the most recent no-hitter author, Heston. Tim Lincecum and Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson are the only pitchers to throw more than one no-hitter in a Giants uniform. Ten no-hitters were thrown at home and seven on the road. The Giants threw one in April, two in May, five in June, five in July, one in August, and three in September. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Hubbell and Juan Marichal, encompassing 34 years, 1 month, and 7 days from May 8, 1929 till June 15, 1963. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the two games pitched by Lincecum, a period of 347 days.[notes 2] The Giants have no-hit the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres the most, doing so three times each—Wiltse in 1908; Jeff Tesreau in 1912; Jesse Barnes in 1922; Jonathan Sánchez in 2009; and Tim Lincecum in 2013 and 2014. Every Giants no-hitter has been a shutout (which is likely, but not a given, considering baserunners can reach, advance, and score by methods other than hits). The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was five, which occurred in Lincecum's first no-hitter. Of the 17 no-hitters, four have been won by a score of 1–0, more common than any other result. Those 1–0 no-hitters were attained by Christy Mathewson in 1905, Wiltse in 1908, Juan Marichal in 1963, and Gaylord Perry in 1968. The largest margin of victory in a Giants no-hitter was an 11–0 win by Carl Hubbell in 1929. Matt Cain is tied with Sandy Koufax for the most strikeouts in a perfect no-hitter with 14.[8]

The umpire is also an integral part of any no-hitter. The task of the umpire in a baseball game is to make any decision "which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out… [the umpire's judgment on such matters] is final."[9] Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining the strike zone, which "is defined as that area over homeplate (sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap."[9] These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter.[10] 16 different umpires presided over each of the franchise's 17 no-hitters.

The manager is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager include determining the starting rotation, the batting order and defensive lineup in every game, and how long a pitcher stays in the game. There have been eight different managers in the franchise's 17 no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Giants history

   Indicates a perfect game
 £  Pitcher was left-handed
 *  Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
# Date Pitcher Final score Base-
runners
Opponent Catcher Plate umpire Manager Notes Ref
1 July 31, 1891 Rusie, AmosAmos Rusie* 6–0 1 Brooklyn Grooms Clarke, ArtieArtie Clarke Powers, PhilPhil Powers Mutrie, JamesJames Mutrie
  • First no-hitter in franchise history
  • First Giants no-hitter at home
  • First right-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history
[11]
2 July 15, 1901 Mathewson, ChristyChristy Mathewson* (1) 5–0 2 @ St. Louis Cardinals Warner, JackJack Warner Dwyer, FrankFrank Dwyer Davis, GeorgeGeorge Davis
  • First Giants no-hitter on the road
[12]
3 June 13, 1905 Mathewson, ChristyChristy Mathewson* (2) 1–0 2 @ Chicago Cubs Bresnahan, RogerRoger Bresnahan (1) Bausewine, GeorgeGeorge Bausewine McGraw, JohnJohn McGraw (1)
  • Smallest margin of victory in a Giants no-hitter (tie)
[13]
4 July 4, 1908 Wiltse, HooksHooks Wiltse£ 1–0 (10) 1 Philadelphia Phillies Bresnahan, RogerRoger Bresnahan (2) Rigler, CyCy Rigler (1) McGraw, JohnJohn McGraw (2)
  • Only baserunner was hit by pitch with two outs in the ninth
  • Smallest margin of victory in a Giants no-hitter (tie)
  • First left-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history
  • First extra-inning no-hitter in franchise history and second in MLB history
[14]
5 September 6, 1912 Tesreau, JeffJeff Tesreau 3–0 3 @ Philadelphia Phillies Meyers, ChiefChief Meyers (1) Klem, BillBill Klem McGraw, JohnJohn McGraw (3) [15]
6 April 15, 1915 Marquard, RubeRube Marquard£ 2–0 4 Brooklyn Robins Meyers, ChiefChief Meyers (2) Rigler, CyCy Rigler (2) McGraw, JohnJohn McGraw (4)
  • Game 2 of season
  • Earliest calendar date of Giants no-hitter
[16]
7 May 7, 1922 Barnes, JesseJesse Barnes 6–0 1 Philadelphia Phillies Smith, EarlEarl Smith Hart, BobBob Hart McGraw, JohnJohn McGraw (5) [17]
8 May 8, 1929 Hubbell, CarlCarl Hubbell£* 11–0 1 Pittsburgh Pirates O'Farrell, BobBob O'Farrell Moran, CharlieCharlie Moran McGraw, JohnJohn McGraw (6)
  • Largest margin of victory in a Giants no-hitter
  • Last no-hitter before moving to San Francisco
[18]
9 June 15, 1963 Marichal, JuanJuan Marichal* 1–0 2 @ Houston Colt .45s Bailey, EdEd Bailey Sudol, EdEd Sudol Dark, AlAl Dark
  • First no-hitter since moving to San Francisco
  • Longest interval between no-hitters in franchise history
  • Smallest margin of victory in a Giants no-hitter (tie)
[19]
10 September 17, 1968 Perry, GaylordGaylord Perry* 1–0 2 St. Louis Cardinals Dietz, DickDick Dietz Wendelstedt, HarryHarry Wendelstedt Franks, HermanHerman Franks
  • Smallest margin of victory in a Giants no-hitter (tie)
  • The next day at the same park, the Cardinals' Ray Washburn no-hit the Giants
[20]
11 August 24, 1975 Halicki, EdEd Halicki£ 6–0 2 New York Mets Rader, DaveDave Rader Froemming, BruceBruce Froemming Westrum, WesWes Westrum
  • Second game of a doubleheader
  • Last no-hitter by a Giants pitcher at Candlestick Park
[21]
12 September 29, 1976 Montefusco, JohnJohn Montefusco 9–0 1 @ Atlanta Braves Alexander, GaryGary Alexander Pryor, PaulPaul Pryor Rigney, BillBill Rigney
  • Latest calendar date of Giants no-hitter
[22]
13 July 10, 2009 Sánchez, JonathanJonathan Sánchez£ 8–0 1 San Diego Padres Whiteside, EliEli Whiteside Runge, BrianBrian Runge Bochy, BruceBruce Bochy (1)
  • First no-hitter at AT&T Park
  • Only baserunner was reached on error with one out in the eighth
[23]
14 June 13, 2012 Cain, MattMatt Cain 10–0 0 Houston Astros Posey, BusterBuster Posey (1) Barrett, TedTed Barrett Bochy, BruceBruce Bochy (2)
  • First perfect game in Giants franchise history
[24]
15 July 13, 2013 Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (1) 9–0 5 @ San Diego Padres Posey, BusterBuster Posey (2) Wegner, MarkMark Wegner Bochy, BruceBruce Bochy (3)
  • First no-hitter ever thrown in San Diego's Petco Park
  • Most baserunners allowed in a Giants no-hitter
[25]
16 June 25, 2014 Lincecum, TimTim Lincecum (2) 4–0 1 San Diego Padres Sánchez, HéctorHéctor Sánchez Hamari, AdamAdam Hamari Bochy, BruceBruce Bochy (4)
  • Shortest interval between no-hitters in franchise history
  • Second pitcher ever to no-hit the same team twice
[26]
17 June 9, 2015 Heston, ChrisChris Heston 5–0 3 @ New York Mets Posey, BusterBuster Posey (3) Drake, RobRob Drake (2) Bochy, BruceBruce Bochy (5)
  • Most recent Giants no-hitter
  • Heston's rookie season
  • No walks, three hit batsmen
[27]

Notes

  1. The only team without a no-hitter in franchise history is the San Diego Padres.
  2. Heston's no-hitter came 349 days after Lincecum's second no-hitter.

References

  1. "San Francisco Giants Team History & Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  2. "San Francisco Giants Franchise History". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  4. Kurkjian, Tim (June 29, 2008). "No-hit win makes no sense, except in baseball". ESPN. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  5. Collier, Jamal; Trezza, Joe (June 9, 2015). "Giants rookie Heston twirls no-hitter vs. Mets". MLB.com.
  6. Baggarly, Andrew (June 25, 2014). "Instant Replay: Lincecum no-hits Padres for second time". CSN Bay Area.
  7. Jon Star (June 14, 2012). "Cain is first perfecto, but Giants know no-nos". MLB.com. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  8. "Matt Cain's perfect game: Best ever?". ESPN. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Umpires: Rules of Interest". MLB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  10. Bronson, Eric. Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box, Pgs 98–99. ISBN 0-8126-9556-9. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  11. "1889 Giants season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  12. "1901 Giants season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  13. "1905 Giants season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  14. "1908 Giants season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  15. "1912 Giants season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  16. "1915 Giants season schedule, box scores, and splits". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  17. "May 7, 1922 Philadelphia Phillies at New York Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  18. "May 8, 1929 Pittsburgh Pirates at New York Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  19. "June 15, 1963 Houston Colts .45's at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  20. "September 17, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  21. "August 24, 1975 New York Mets at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  22. "September 29, 1976 San Francisco Giants at Atlanta Braves Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  23. "July 10, 2009 San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  24. "June 13, 2012 Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  25. "July 13, 2013 San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  26. "June 25, 2014 San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
  27. "June 9, 2015 San Francisco Giants at New York Mets Box Score and Play by Play". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 10, 2015.

External links

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