When did “no-no” become a way of referring to a no-hitter? I’ve been hearing this for a while now, and I was wondering if this was just another term that ESPN thought would be cool to start using. What is the second “no” supposed to refer to? It doesn’t seem to refer to a perfect game, and nothing else makes much sense. I guess it could be “no hits, no runs.” So to keep this from just being a mini-rant, here’s my GQ: Has anyone (individual or team) ever had a complete game no-hitter but not a shutout?
To answer your GQ, it’s happened several times. The most recent occurrence was Sept. 19, 1986. Joe Cowley, pitching for the Chicago White Sox, pitched a no-hitter against the Angels. He walked 7 batters and gave up a sacrifice fly, so the final score was Chicago 7, Angels 1.
I struggled with that term, too. I think it means no runs, no hits, which would place it in the following heirarchy:
[li]no-hitter: opposing team gets no hits (does not guarantee a victory as runs may still score on double plays, sac flies, balks, walks, errors, or … I think there are other ways, but they don’t spring to mind)[/li][li]shut-out: opposing team scores no runs[/li][li]no-no: opposing team neither hits nor scores[/li]perfect game: opposing team neither hits nor scores, winning team commits no errors (27 batters up, 27 batters down)
Okay, so maybe, maybe, there is some logic behind the term, but I still think it’s something ESPN uses to sound “cool.” KTK, I think a no-hitter tends to rank higher than a shut-out simply because no-hitters are much rarer.
No argument, JeffB. I don’t know why I didn’t list them in that order.
I also don’t know why I gave such a weak gloss for “perfect game,” which as we all know cannot merely be achieved by the opposing team go oh-fer in hits and runs while the winning team plays errorless ball, but in addition the winning team must not walk a man, drop a third strike, hit a batsman, or in any other way allow a man on base. That’s the 27-up/27-down side of what I said before.
While this is true, Matt Young of the Red Sox managed to LOSE a game that he threw a no hitter in, in the early 90s. However, as it was a road game, he only pitched 8 innings, and because of this, the feat is not considered a complete game no hitter by Major League Baseball.
