Isaac Gramse ‘26
EE Sports Columnist
One of the most desired moments for a pitcher is the chance to throw either a no-hitter or a perfect game. For those who don’t know, a no-hitter is when one or more pitchers do not allow the opposing team to get a hit, however they can allow hit batters, walks, and errors. A perfect game is much harder: the pitcher must face 27 batters and all 27 batters must record an out. While I do enjoy getting the opportunity to see one of these moments in baseball history, they are flawed in my opinion.
My problem starts with the many things that can make these moments “not count” in the eyes of some fans. What if a game gets rained out in the 3rd inning before the team gets a hit. Is that considered a no-hitter? What if a pitcher is perfect through 9 innings, but since the offense doesn’t do anything, the game remains tied and he later gives up a hit in the 10th inning. Why is that not a perfect game?
This has come to my attention after Brewers-Yankees game on Sunday, September 10, where the Brewers no-hit the Yankees for 12th innings until eventually losing the bid and the game. I hate how this doesn’t count as a no-hitter. It’s not the pitchers’ fault that the offense couldn’t score in the standard 9 innings, so why should he have to be punished for that?
Another case of this happened back on July 3, 1995. Pedro Martinez threw a perfect 9 innings against the Padres, but the Expos weren’t able to score the one run they needed to get him the achievement. This would lead Bip Roberts to hit a lead-off double in the bottom of tenth, losing Martinez the bid for history. Worst of all, Expos manager immediately took Pedro out after this for closer Mel Rojas, who almost lost the game.
While, this may seem insignificant to some, I feel that this is a problem that commissioner Rob Manfred should try to fix, he’s already made a bunch of bogus rules in baseball, why not make an actually important rule that can help the pitchers?