Justin Verlander tossed his second career no-hitter Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, joining only 29 other pitchers in Major League Baseball history to throw two or more no-hitters in a career.
Verlander lost his bid for a perfect game in the eighth inning when he allowed a walk to J.P. Arencibia on a 12-pitch at bat with one out.
Verlander threw only 108 pitches in the game, and was still reaching 100 MPH in the ninth inning. He struck out four batters.
He threw his first no-hitter on June 12, 2007 against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 Brewers while walking four.
The remarkable part of Verlander’s accomplishment is that it comes while he is still just 28 years old. To put this in full perspective, only five pitchers have ever thrown three or more no-hitters in their career; at only 28 years old and still in the prime of his career, Verlander could join that exclusive club.
From this point forward, every start Justin Verlander makes will have the potential to be a historic event for Major League Baseball.
In addition to being able to break into one of the most exclusive clubs in baseball history, Verlander also has the potential to reach the record for most no-hitters with a single team (four). While it seems like a long shot, he could reach the record for most no-hitters in the American League (six) if he can throw four more no-nos during his career (assuming he doesn’t move to the National League at some point).
Mark Buehrle and Roy Halladay are the only other active pitchers with multiple no-hitters. Halladay is 33 years old, though, and Buehrle is 32. Verlander is the youngest of the three and will stand the best chance of repeatin.
Three+ No-Hitter Club
Only Cy Young (three), Larry Corcoran (three), Bob Feller (three), Sandy Koufax (four) and Nolan Ryan (seven) have more no-hitters in their career.
Two+ No-Hitter Club
Justin Verlander | 2007 | 2011 | |||||
Al Atkinson | 1884 | 1886 | |||||
Ted Breitenstein | 1891 | 1898 | |||||
Mark Buehrle | 2007 | 2009 | |||||
Jim Bunning | 1956 | 1959 | |||||
Steve Busby | 1973 | 1974 | |||||
Larry Corcoran | 1880 | 1882 | 1884 | ||||
Carl Erskine | 1952 | 1956 | |||||
Bob Feller | 1940 | 1946 | 1951 | ||||
Bob Forsch | 1978 | 1983 | |||||
Pud Galvin | 1880 | 1884 | |||||
Roy Halladay | 2010 | 2010 | |||||
Ken Holtzman | 1969 | 1971 | |||||
Randy Johnson | 1990 | 2004 | |||||
Addie Joss | 1908 | 1910 | |||||
Sandy Koufax | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | |||
Dutch Leonard | 1916 | 1918 | |||||
Jim Maloney | 1965 | 1969 | |||||
Christy Mathewson | 1901 | 1905 | |||||
Hideo Nomo | 1996 | 2001 | |||||
Allie Reynolds | 1951 | 1951 | |||||
Nolan Ryan | 1973 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1981 | 1990 | 1991 |
Frank Smith | 1905 | 1908 | |||||
Warren Spahn | 1960 | 1961 | |||||
Bill Stoneman | 1969 | 1972 | |||||
Adonis Terry | 1886 | 1888 | |||||
Virgil Trucks | 1952 | 1952 | |||||
Johnny Vandermeer | 1938 | 1938 | |||||
Don Wilson | 1967 | 1969 | |||||
Cy Young | 1897 | 1904 | 1908 |
Brandon McClintock covers Major League Baseball for BleacherReport.com. You can follow him on Twitter: @BMcClintock_BR.
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