Have you ever seen an MLB no-hitter in person? (If not, how close have you come?)

Have you ever seen an MLB no-hitter in person? (Or if not, how close have you come?)

  • Yes - I've seen more than one in person.

    Votes: 8 6.7%
  • Yes - I've seen one in person.

    Votes: 34 28.6%
  • No - closest I've come is one that was broken up in the 9th inning.

    Votes: 15 12.6%
  • No - closest I've come is one that was broken up in the 8th inning.

    Votes: 12 10.1%
  • No - closest I've come is one that was broken up in the 7th inning.

    Votes: 6 5.0%
  • No - closest I've come is one that was broken up in the 6th inning.

    Votes: 6 5.0%
  • No - closest I've come is one that was broken up in the 5th inning.

    Votes: 5 4.2%
  • No - not even close.

    Votes: 18 15.1%
  • No - but I can't remember how close I've come to seeing one.

    Votes: 13 10.9%
  • Er, I've never been to an MLB game in person, so...

    Votes: 2 1.7%

  • Total voters
    119
Just thought I'd throw this out as a rainy Saturday topic to discuss - poll included. For some random reason I was thinking about old Braves relievers earlier today, trying to remember how many silly names I could remember from my childhood, and reflexively my brain spat out the surnames Mercker, Wohlers and Pena, who I saw pitch the first combined no-hitter in NL history. Which didn't quite feel like a *real* no-hitter, but still...in the middle of my first proper pennant race as a fan - NL West, 1991 - it was unbelievable enough. And I also quite clearly remember reverse-jinxing the no-hitter - I was there with a few high school friends, and from the fifth or sixth inning on, I was saying stuff like, "I can't believe that I'm here watching a no-hitter happen right in front of me," rather than the usual don't-talk-about-it stuff.

(Hey, I just looked it up no YouTube, and that no-hitter took place on September 11, 1991 - exactly 10 years before you-know-what. Which is kinda spooky.)

So how close have you come to seeing one? I'm sure you'll remember this pretty clearly if you have seen one, or if you were at one that was broken up in the 8th or 9th inning...but probably much less clearly if you weren't really that close. (Or maybe you've seen a minor league or college no-hitter in person instead?)
 

JohnnyTheBone

Member
SoSH Member
May 28, 2007
36,331
Nobody Cares
I was at the Hideo Nomo gem on April 4, 2001 in Baltimore. The friend I was with began the no-no watch in the second inning. Started as a joke, turned into a fantastic hardball memory.
 

cmac24

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 2, 2001
2,003
I was at Frankie V's one-hitter at the SkyDome in 1992. I had saved the ticket stub for years after, but who knows where it is now. That was during the Jay's run in the early 90's; the stadium was packed and in the 9th the crowd was absolutely electric.
 

Huntington Avenue Grounds

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 17, 2008
1,899
Lunenburg, MA
I was at the Mussina near-perfect game in 2001 at Fenway. 0-0 in ninth, MFY take a 1-0 lead and Carl Everett breaks it up with two out and two strikes. I knew it was the closest to a perfect game I was ever likely to get but lost my voice cheering for that single. It annoyed me that anyone thought we were celebrating Mussina's effort.
 

bigq

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
11,084
I was at Derek Lowe’s no hitter on April 28, 2002. I went with my girlfriend who later became my wife and it was her first time to see a game at Fenway. Quite a good first impression. The last couple of innings were pretty special. Good memories.
 

luckysox

Indiana Jones
SoSH Member
Apr 21, 2009
8,075
S.E. Pennsylvania
May 21st, 2016, JOE KELLY had a no hitter for 6+. I have to be honest, it felt like a real honest to goodness 9 inning no-no because it was Joe Kelly. He was demoted after his next 2 starts, wherein he gave up 5 runs on 9 hits in 4.2, and 7 runs on 7 hits in 2.1 innings. He has not started since. Joe Kelly, ladies and gents.
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
Ten years ago my wife and I were in the stands to witness Jon Lester's no hitter against Kansas City. It was a pretty cold mid May night and as the game got into the later innings, with each batter faced I would joke to my wife, "I hope this kid gives up a hit pretty soon so we can leave, I'm freezing." Fenway felt electric when the final hitter came to the plate and exploded when Lester struck out Alberto Callaspo on a ball that was high and outside for the final out. As exciting as it was to witness this game, the cherry on top was seeing Lester and Francona embracing on the field. Quite an emotional moment given all that Lester had gone through personally in the year and 1/2 leading up to that day.
 

MuzzyField

Well-Known Member
Gold Supporter
SoSH Member
In September of 1988, I witnessed Jeff Sellers go perfect for 5 2/3. He held the Tribe hitless for 7 1/3, then gave up a solo-bomb and a single for a 1-0 loss to Indians "ace" John Farrell. The Brewers lost and still allowed the Sox clinch the AL East crown.

I saw Tom Browning throw a no-hitter in the EL for Waterbury against New Britain. I think it was a 7-inning DH game. I guess it was a sign of MLB things to come for TB.
 

dbn

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 10, 2007
7,785
La Mancha.
The only notable games I've seen in person were such for reasons other than pitching: Sammy Sosa's three three-run home runs in consecutive ABs in Denver, and a multi-brawl Red Sox game in that warehouse in St. Petersburg when they threw at (IIRC) Ortiz and maybe Manny.
 

jungleboy

New Member
Mar 1, 2016
153
I was at Derek Lowe’s no hitter on April 28, 2002. I went with my girlfriend who later became my wife and it was her first time to see a game at Fenway. Quite a good first impression. The last couple of innings were pretty special. Good memories.
I had the choice of going to that game or the game the following day. I chose the following day for no real reason, missed the no-hitter, and my game was rained out.
 

Merkle's Boner

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 24, 2011
3,756
Closest I’ve come is having tickets to a hot August game being started by a rookie who had recently been called up. Sorry Clay! I’ll never forgive myself for making that decision.
 

mattrobot

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
117
New Hampshire
I was in the bleachers with my wife and her parents for Lester's no-hitter. It was a very cold May night, and we were bundled up in winter jackets, hats and gloves, drinking overpriced Dunkin' hot chocolate. My wife and I recognized what was going on, but her parents had no idea. Not wanting to pull a Dave O'Brien and jinx it, we said nothing more overt than "hey, look at the scoreboard... do you see what's happening?" When Lester recorded the final out, my freezing-cold parents-in-law rushed to exit the stands as fast as they could, oblivious to what they had witnessed as the celebration on the field unfolded.
 

PseuFighter

Silent scenester
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2003
14,408
Yes; saw Chris Heston (Giants) throw one against the Mets in 2015. Had tickets to Scherzer's no-no against the Mets that same year, but didn't go.
 

tbrown_01923

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 29, 2006
780
I was at Derek Lowe’s no hitter on April 28, 2002. I went with my girlfriend who later became my wife and it was her first time to see a game at Fenway. Quite a good first impression. The last couple of innings were pretty special. Good memories.
Outfield seats for that game too. A whole bunch of ground outs is all I remember - too far away to appreciate the weak contact...
 

Dehere

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 25, 2010
3,143
I was at Dwight Gooden's no-hitter at Yankee Stadium in 1996. Rollicking game in which he walked six and was never really dominant. Fun night.

The best pitched game I've ever attended was undoubtedly Pedro's one-hit, 17k win over the Yankees in 1999. Really think that game has a strong argument as one of the 10 greatest pitching performances in history. So while I have seen a no-no, that game was far more exciting and memorable.
 

pk1627

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
May 24, 2003
2,514
Boston
Lowe’s nohitter. I also saw Lowe close out Oakland in 2003, and win game 7 and game 4 in 2004. I appreciate Lowe.
 

bankshot1

Member
SoSH Member
Feb 12, 2003
24,652
where I was last at
Lonborg's 1-hitter game 2 1967 World series

He lost it with two-outs in the 8th.

Sox won 5-0

screw you Julian Javier.

And agree about Pedro's 1-hitter, that was the best pitched game I've ever seen.
 

moondog80

heart is two sizes two small
SoSH Member
Sep 20, 2005
8,096
I was there when Shannon Stewart broke up Curt Schilling’s no hitter, and when Carl Everett broke up Mike Mussina’s perfect game, both with two outs in the 9th.
 

BlackJack

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 11, 2007
3,456
I was also at Lester’s no-no. My wife had surprised me with tickets near the Pesky Pole. I always have the no-no in the back of my mind until the first hit is recorded but I didn’t start really focusing on it until we got into the 6th. At the end of the 7th people were standing for the last out and my wife was confused as to why everyone was so into it since the score was 7-0. I was struggling with how to clue her in without saying anything when a guy in front of us just turned around and said flat out that Lester had a no-hitter going.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,059
Hingham, MA
Similar to a few others, the most rare thing I've ever seen in person was not a no hit bid. It was probably the game where the White Sox turned a triple play and Valentin hit for the cycle. I think it was the first time in AL history that happened. Also got a foul ball that night. It also happened to be Jeff Frye's first game with the Red Sox. No idea why that sticks in my memory but it does. Special night.
 

HriniakPosterChild

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 6, 2006
14,841
500 feet above Lake Sammammish
Clemens 1 hitter in Seattle in the 2000 ALCS, which he said was the best game he ever pitched, broken up by the immortal Al Martin with a double in the 7th.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SEA/SEA200010140.shtml

Jason Schmidt 1 hitter in 2004 for San Francisco against the Red Sox, which Youks ended with a double in the 6th. https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN200406200.shtml. Schmidt threw 166 pitches and had a 4 run lead to open the 9th. I was astonished to see him come out to close the game, but Filipe was old school, man.
 

Riconway3155

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
775
Ma
I was also at Lowe's no hitter. I was a senior in high school and went with 5 other class mates. I remember being on the third base line. Still have the ticket in my wallet even though you can barely make out what it is.
 

mikeford

woolwich!
SoSH Member
Aug 6, 2006
29,517
St John's, NL
I was at the A's (i think?) near no-no that Stephen Drew broke up. I said to my friend I was with before Drew got his AB that inning that he'd be the guy who ruined this no hitter because his brother was the guy who ruined the LAST near-no-hitter we were at. I think that was against Seattle and Felix Hernandez.

Edit: looks like it was against the Cubs and Arrietta that Stephen Drew broke it up.
 

splendid splinter

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2001
1,076
Greenville, SC
I was at the Buchholz no-hitter, sitting Loge Box right by first base. Almost “missed it” despite being there because my friend (a huge UM fan) and I spent the early part of the day watching App St/Michigan at GameOn! I was so bombed after that (I enjoyed giving him shit more than supporting him) I watched the first 2-3 innings with one eye closed so I could see just one Pedroia. Switched to Coke for the remainder of the game, thank god, or I might not have remembered it.

A few years later I turned down tickets to go see the Rockies/Braves game in Atlanta where Umbaldo Jimenez spun a no-hitter. I could have been one of a select few to see two no-hitters. Instead I became one of 15K in Atlanta to see one.
 

MalzoneExpress

Thanks, gramps.
SoSH Member
Jul 22, 2005
867
Cambridge, MA
6/19/70 - Sonny Siebert took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against the New York Yankees. He gave up 4 hits and 4 runs before Sparky Lyle finished off a 7-4 Sox win.
 

Jordu

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2003
8,962
Brookline
I was at the Buchholz no-hitter and the Lowe no-hitter.

I was at the Lowe game with my brother and his 11-year-old son. After the game my brother and I took my nephew out back to wait at the players’ parking lot for autographs, which we always did because my dad did it for us. My nephew got Lowe’s autograph and Varitek’s autograph on the ticket stub. He still has it.

I also vividly recall Mike Mussina being one strike away from throwing a perfect game on Sept. 3, 2001. I wondered whether I should root for a perfect game — what an experience to see a perfect game! —or whether I should root for the Sox to get a meaningless hit. For about half a second.

I screamed myself hoarse encouraging Carl Everett, who dropped a two-strike single into left. Fenway erupted into cheers. The memory still makes me happy.
 

kelpapa

Costanza's Hero
SoSH Member
Feb 15, 2010
4,639
I was supposed to go to Buchholz's no-hitter. Old roommate got tickets, but he and I had a falling out. I didn't end up going, but I went to I think the Baseball Tavern that night. We were on the roof, and could hear everyone yelling after every pitch, then we'd see the result on TV.
 

Pandemonium67

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 17, 2003
5,575
Lesterland
Saw Chris Bosio no-hit the Sox at the old Kingdome in the early 90s. I think he walked the bases loaded in the 1st inning, but after that, nothing. In the 9th, one batter hit a slow, high bouncer up the middle. Omar Vizquel made a pretty nice barehanded catch and throw for the out. (Had he missed it, I bet the scorer would've ruled it an error, but the no-hitter would've been tainted.)

A lot of people have mentioned Mussina's near perfecto. I was in my living room, praying that Everett got a hit. The next day, Shaughnessey wrote an article chastising Sox fans for not wanting to see history. Dude was way wrong -- we did see history.
 

Was (Not Wasdin)

family crest has godzilla
SoSH Member
Jul 26, 2007
3,721
The Short Bus
Closest I’ve come is having tickets to a hot August game being started by a rookie who had recently been called up. Sorry Clay! I’ll never forgive myself for making that decision.

You may be thinking of clay’s first start. I was at that game, it was a very hot Friday afternoon in August. It was a day night doubleheader because they had to make up a game that had been rained out earlier in the year (that was the game I originally had tickets for). Sox did well to win that game, as the Angels starter was....John Lackey, who was very good in 2007.

It was his second game, on a Saturday night, that he threw the no hitter.
 

Section15Box113

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2005
8,914
Inside Lou Gorman's Head
I was at the David Wells perfect game vs. the Twins at the toilet in 1998.

Took until the 6th, but admit I started rooting for it to happen. Still to this day, the only time I’ve rooted for the MFYs (unless the Sox needed them to beat someone). I felt dirty, but it was worth it to see it in person.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 23, 2001
10,230
I too was at Lowe's no hitter. It was my then three year old son's first ever baseball game. Not sure how he'll ever top that. He may have peaked early.
 
Last edited:

Merkle's Boner

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 24, 2011
3,756
You may be thinking of clay’s first start. I was at that game, it was a very hot Friday afternoon in August. It was a day night doubleheader because they had to make up a game that had been rained out earlier in the year (that was the game I originally had tickets for). Sox did well to win that game, as the Angels starter was....John Lackey, who was very good in 2007.

It was his second game, on a Saturday night, that he threw the no hitter.
Yeah, it was his second start, the no-no. I consider that “recently called up”.
 

snowmanny

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2005
15,670
Had tickets to what was Lowe's no-hitter. Gave them away to bring my kid to a birthday party. Had tickets but skipped Buchholz's no-hitter because a bunch of my family was at a rented house up at the beach and I went to see them.
 

Lose Remerswaal

Experiencing Furry Panic
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
I was at the Mussina near-perfect game in 2001 at Fenway. 0-0 in ninth, MFY take a 1-0 lead and Carl Everett breaks it up with two out and two strikes. I knew it was the closest to a perfect game I was ever likely to get but lost my voice cheering for that single. It annoyed me that anyone thought we were celebrating Mussina's effort.
Same here.
 

grsharky7

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
1,243
Berlin, PA
I was at Pedro’s 17K, one hitter in 1999 vs the Yankees. He hit Knoblaugh to start the game and then he was thrown trying to steal. Chili Davis hit a HR in the second inning. Just an electric night at the old stadium. I remember when he stuck out Darryl Strawberry in the 9th, ball was in the glove when he swung.
 

BoSox Rule

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
2,343
I was at the Mussina game, also a King Felix game in very early 2007.

Edit- Felix game was actually Dice-K’s first start at Fenway. Drew broke it up as the first batter in the 8th. Mussina game doesn’t need any description.
 
Last edited:

snowmanny

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2005
15,670
I did go to a Rogelio Moret one-hitter (7th inning) in 1974 . Man I loved that guy.
 

Sad Sam Jones

Member
SoSH Member
May 5, 2017
2,494
I don't think I've come close at a major league game. I saw Ryan Merritt throw a 7-inning no-hitter at AA Akron in 2015 in game #1 of a double-header. With it being a short game and just a really efficient outing that didn't seem particularly dominant, it felt a little underwhelming. Also at Akron I saw Jeremy Sowers take a perfect game into the 7th inning (9 inning game)... some guy realized he had a no-hitter going and yelled it out during the same at-bat he gave up the first hit.

*