No-Hitters by Catchers

jgross68 · 04-23-2003, 10:48 AM

I was listening to the Rangers-Red Sox game last night (4/22) when Rangers play-by-play man Josh Lewin brought up that Jason Varitek had caught both Hideo Nomo's and Derek Lowe's no-hitters for Boston. Since I think the catcher deserves a fair amount of credit for a no-hitter, this little bit of trivia made me wonder who the all-time leader in no-hitters caught is. It didn't take much of a Google search to find this: Catching Three No-Hitters by Chuck Rosciam at BaseballLibrary.com. Turns out that the Nolan Ryan of catchers is White Sox Hall of Famer Ray Schalk with four no-hitters caught, including two in the same month (May 1914). There are fifteen catchers with three no-hitters caught, the latest being Colorado's Charles Johnson who caugh no-hitters by Al Leiter (1996), Kevin Brown (1997) and A.J. Burnett (2001) and is the only active player on the list.
The BaseballLibrary.com article also led me to the Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers which has a complete list of no-hitters as well as a good records and trivia page.
And now you know.

Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf · 04-23-2003, 10:58 AM

I found all those sites extremely boring and uninteresting.

jgross68 · 04-23-2003, 11:08 AM

You're welcome!

EDIT: P.S., Worst. Alias. Ever.

LivnLegend · 04-23-2003, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf
I found all those sites extremely boring and uninteresting.

Hey, keep the aliases to the Off Topic forum, wouldya?

Hey JG, how about the luck(?) of Jeff Torborg.
Although he was normally a backup for the Dodgers, he caught Sandy Koufax's perfect game in 1965, Bill Singer's no-hitter in 1970, and the fifth of Don Drysdale's record six consecutive shutouts in 1968. To top it off, later as an Angel, he caught Nolan Ryan's no-hitter in '73.

jgross68 · 04-23-2003, 12:31 PM

I saw Torborg's name on that list of 3 no-hitter catchers and thought that was odd. I looked up his career numbers: He only caught 559 games in a ten-year career; a lifetime .214 hitter (.533 career OPS) you couldn't afford to play him full-time. I haven't taken the time to look at the other 3 no-hitter guys, but I'd guess they all have a lot more games caught, so you have to figure Torborg was pretty darn good at calling the game when he did get behind the plate. Should bode well for that good young pitching staff in Florida and maybe he could even teach Pudge how to call a game...

LivnLegend · 04-23-2003, 12:58 PM

I know that Alan Ashby is on the list of 3 caught no-hitters. He was always a favorite of mine. As a kid, I remember getting his 1979 topps card, picturing him as a Blue Jay, like a million times in packs. He caught oneof Ryan's, one from Forsch, and Mike Scott's no-hitters.

Tib · 04-24-2003, 09:56 PM

Did you know that each of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters were caught by different catchers?

7 no-nos, 7 different catchers.

blubbla · 04-25-2003, 01:08 AM

hmmm... I wonder how many catchers Ryan had over his career.

jgross68 · 04-25-2003, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by blubbla
hmmm... I wonder how many catchers Ryan had over his career.

At least seven!

Here is the list of Ryan's no-hitters, including the catcher:
1. 5/15/1973 CAL vs KC, 3-0 (Jeff Torborg, his third no-hitter)
2. 7/15/1973 CAL vs DET, 6-0 (Art Kusnyer)
3. 9/28/1974 CAL vs MIN, 4-0 (Tom Egan)
4. 6/1/1975 CAL vs BAL, 1-0 (Ellie Rodriguez)
5. 9/26/1981 HOU vs LA, 5-0 (Alan Ashby, his second)
6. 6/11/1990 TEX vs OAK, 5-0 (John Russell)
7. 5/1/1991 TEX vs TOR, 3-0 (Mike Stanley)

Specs · 04-25-2003, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by blubbla
hmmm... I wonder how many catchers Ryan had over his career.

I'm guessing catching Nolan Ryan was never the easiest thing to do -- how many would have wanted to do it???

darkhorse · 04-25-2003, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Specs
I'm guessing catching Nolan Ryan was never the easiest thing to do -- how many would have wanted to do it???

I'd rather catch Nolan Ryan than Charlie Hough.

LivnLegend · 04-25-2003, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by darkhorse
I'd rather catch Nolan Ryan than Charlie Hough.

How about Ankiel or Wohlers when they were having their issues.

On the other hand, catching former Dodger Carlos Perez would have been a snap. Hardly any pitches made it past the plate into the catcher's mitt.

SoxWin · 04-25-2003, 07:04 PM

I'd hate to be Jeter's catcher.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Rich

ihatenames · 04-26-2003, 02:03 AM

correct me if i'm wrong but hasn't Joe Girardi caught a few no-hitters

04-23-2003, 10:48 AM	#1
jgross68 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ....is everything! OTA: .882, Member #866 Posts: 690	No-Hitters by Catchers I was listening to the Rangers-Red Sox game last night (4/22) when Rangers play-by-play man Josh Lewin brought up that Jason Varitek had caught both Hideo Nomo's and Derek Lowe's no-hitters for Boston. Since I think the catcher deserves a fair amount of credit for a no-hitter, this little bit of trivia made me wonder who the all-time leader in no-hitters caught is. It didn't take much of a Google search to find this: Catching Three No-Hitters by Chuck Rosciam at BaseballLibrary.com. Turns out that the Nolan Ryan of catchers is White Sox Hall of Famer Ray Schalk with four no-hitters caught, including two in the same month (May 1914). There are fifteen catchers with three no-hitters caught, the latest being Colorado's Charles Johnson who caugh no-hitters by Al Leiter (1996), Kevin Brown (1997) and A.J. Burnett (2001) and is the only active player on the list. The BaseballLibrary.com article also led me to the Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers which has a complete list of no-hitters as well as a good records and trivia page. And now you know. __________________ Javier Gustavo Ruprecht Oss LXVIII Bizarro-Gastric ReFlux Emeritus Judo Purist and Supporter of Monkey Rodeo Leagues: OTBL \| ABC \| OCHO \| Off The Wall (Coming Soon!) Blogs: The Legacy of Tony Womack \| How We Got Enron! ...the musical (Now even less frequently updated!) Topical quote for any occasion: "Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth." ~Henrik Ibsen, "An Enemy of the People"

04-23-2003, 10:58 AM	#2
Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf Bat Boy Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 10	I found all those sites extremely boring and uninteresting. __________________ We defeated the infidels swiftly!

04-23-2003, 11:08 AM	#3
jgross68 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ....is everything! OTA: .882, Member #866 Posts: 690	You're welcome! EDIT: P.S., Worst. Alias. Ever. __________________ Javier Gustavo Ruprecht Oss LXVIII Bizarro-Gastric ReFlux Emeritus Judo Purist and Supporter of Monkey Rodeo Leagues: OTBL \| ABC \| OCHO \| Off The Wall (Coming Soon!) Blogs: The Legacy of Tony Womack \| How We Got Enron! ...the musical (Now even less frequently updated!) Topical quote for any occasion: "Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth." ~Henrik Ibsen, "An Enemy of the People" Last edited by jgross68; 04-23-2003 at 11:12 AM.

04-23-2003, 12:31 PM	#5
jgross68 All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ....is everything! OTA: .882, Member #866 Posts: 690	I saw Torborg's name on that list of 3 no-hitter catchers and thought that was odd. I looked up his career numbers: He only caught 559 games in a ten-year career; a lifetime .214 hitter (.533 career OPS) you couldn't afford to play him full-time. I haven't taken the time to look at the other 3 no-hitter guys, but I'd guess they all have a lot more games caught, so you have to figure Torborg was pretty darn good at calling the game when he did get behind the plate. Should bode well for that good young pitching staff in Florida and maybe he could even teach Pudge how to call a game... __________________ Javier Gustavo Ruprecht Oss LXVIII Bizarro-Gastric ReFlux Emeritus Judo Purist and Supporter of Monkey Rodeo Leagues: OTBL \| ABC \| OCHO \| Off The Wall (Coming Soon!) Blogs: The Legacy of Tony Womack \| How We Got Enron! ...the musical (Now even less frequently updated!) Topical quote for any occasion: "Never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth." ~Henrik Ibsen, "An Enemy of the People"

04-23-2003, 12:58 PM	#6
LivnLegend Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: 100% pure adrenaline! Posts: 5,624	I know that Alan Ashby is on the list of 3 caught no-hitters. He was always a favorite of mine. As a kid, I remember getting his 1979 topps card, picturing him as a Blue Jay, like a million times in packs. He caught oneof Ryan's, one from Forsch, and Mike Scott's no-hitters. __________________ Excess ain't rebellion. You're drinking what they're selling.

04-24-2003, 09:56 PM	#7
Tib All Star Reserve Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Paso Robles, CA Posts: 995	Did you know that each of Nolan Ryan's no-hitters were caught by different catchers? 7 no-nos, 7 different catchers. __________________ https://forums.ootpdevelopments.com/...ad.php?t=64219

04-25-2003, 01:08 AM	#8
blubbla Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Herscher, IL Posts: 2,460	hmmm... I wonder how many catchers Ryan had over his career.

04-25-2003, 07:04 PM	#13
SoxWin Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Blissful ignorance Posts: 3,315	I'd hate to be Jeter's catcher. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Rich __________________ It's called partying. When you do a lot of it, you're bound to be places where the police show up. I smoke a lot of pot and drink a lot of beer. I also graduated Suma Cum Laude. ****ing sue me. - Luis Rivera

04-26-2003, 02:03 AM	#14
ihatenames Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Rockford Posts: 2,534	correct me if i'm wrong but hasn't Joe Girardi caught a few no-hitters