This afternoon Detroit Tigers pitchers Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange combined on a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays en route to a 2-0 victory at Comerica Park. Manning pitched the first 6.2 innings with Foley pitching 1.1 innings with Lange nailing down the final three outs.
It was the 20th combined no-hitter in MLB history.
Yet it is worth noting that 16 of these combined no-hitters have come since 1990.
Of those 16 combined no-hitters, 11 of them have been tossed since 2012.
Of those 11 combined no-hitters, 9 of them have been thrown since 2018.
There have been 320 no-hitters in MLB history with combined no-hitters representing 6.3% of the total.
Of the 48 no-hitters thrown since 2012, nearly 25% have been combined no-hitters.
Since 2018 of the 24 no-hitters thrown more than a third have been of the combined variety.
To break it down even further, of the last 9 no-hitters thrown since June 2021, 6 of them have been combined no-hitters including the in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series in which Cristian Javier (along with relievers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly) no-hit the NL champion Philadelphia Phillies. Indeed, it was the second combined no-hitter Javier and Pressly were involved in that season.
There was a time when it used to be taboo for a big-league manager to remove a pitcher throwing a no-hitter. But with pitchers on pitch counts that time is long gone. Although Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was booed by Tigers fans after lifting Manning, he said after the game, "My first responsibility is to him. Sometimes, that doesn't always line up with what everybody wants to see in their head." Earlier this season, Manning sustained a fractured foot on a line drive back in April against the very same Blue Jays lineup.
All of which makes the circumstances under which the four combined no-hitters that occurred before 1990 that much more interesting.
The first ever combined no-hitter took place on June 23, 1917, when it was pulled off by Babe Ruth and Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox against the Washington Senators. The only reason it was combined no-hitters was because Ruth got ejected for assaulting the home plate umpire after walking the first batter. Once Shore came in, the runner on first was caught stealing second and then proceeded to retire the next 26 batters.
It would be nearly half a century before the next combined no-hitter was thrown when on April 30, 1967, Baltimore Orioles pitchers Steve Barber and Stu Miller did not allow a single hit to the Detroit Tigers. The only problem was the Orioles lost the game 2-1. Barber, who threw 8.2 innings issued 10 walks during the game with both runs scoring on errors in the 9th inning.
There would be two combined no-hitters in 1975 and 1976 with the Oakland A's on both ends. When A's hurlers Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers no-hit the California Angels on September 28, 1975, it marked the first time more than two pitchers were involved in a no-hitter. Exactly 10 months later, the A's would be on the receiving end of a combined no-no by Chicago White Sox pitchers Blue Moon Odom and Francisco Barrios despite 11 walks between them. Notably, Odom had been a member of the A's World Series dynasty of 1972-1974.
It isn't to say there won't be complete game no-hitters. Indeed, today's combined no-hitter by the Tigers trio of Manning, Foley and Lange (sounds like a law firm) comes only 10 days after New York Yankees pitcher Domingo German's perfect game against the Oakland A's.
However, if the past decade or so and especially over the past 5 years is any indication, when no-hitters are thrown going forward more likely than not it will be multiple pitchers sharing the glory. In which case, it will make the complete game no-hitter that much more special.
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