Baseball’s Statistical Rarities
The MLB season is nearing its completion, and already, there have been eight no-hitters thrown by pitchers this season, the most recent with Tyler Gilbert throwing a no-hitter in his Major League debut on Saturday night. Gilbert’s debut of a no-hitter was only the fourth time in Major League history a pitcher threw a no-hitter in his debut. While a rare feat, Gilbert’s addition to the no-hit club joins the ranks of 312 other pitchers that have done the same. The no-hitter is losing its allure.
On Saturday night alone there were three No-Hit watches. First, Taijuan Walker took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Matt Moore was pitching six scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds. The no-hit watch has become standard practice in baseball. A hitter’s average batting average across the league is .242. That is the lowest it has been in over 20 years. Statheads may argue, “well the power numbers are better” but that would be wrong too. The average slugging percentage this year is also low, measuring .408—the lowest in five years. This illustrates hitters are just whiffing more or making poor contact. Either way: the no-hitter isn’t a rare feat anymore.
This is especially apparent when considering other baseball feats that are rarer to see in a baseball game. For example, one of the rarest things you will see in a baseball game is a hitter hitting four home runs in a game. That has only happened 19 times in MLB’s rich history.
While playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks, J.D. Martinez is part of the 4 homers in a game club. This year, he casually hit 3 in one game. Matthew J. Lee | Globe Staff
We have not witnessed a perfect game in nearly 10 years, they have only occurred 23 times in Major League history. This is a bigger surprise when considering the current MLB hitter trends. And, most notably, three of the no-hitters in 2021 were either one walk or one hit by pitch away from being a perfect game. This suggests a perfect game is on the horizon, and we can expect an exciting push notification when it happens.
But watching a baseball game should be more fun than watching something that has already occurred over 300 times, especially when it is happening against your team. Many MLB teams already have a lackluster and frustrating offense, watching a no-hitter seems inevitable. If I am going to root for baseball rarities, I want utter dominance.
To me, that’s a 20 strikeout game. A 20 strikeout game has only happened five times in MLB history. Roger Clemens did it twice! Realistically, the chances of witnessing a 20 strikeout game are exceptionally rare. For a sport craving to keep viewers’ attention for a three-hour duration, witnessing its’ entirety is even rarer. So, having a game casually on in the background, you stand a slightly better chance at seeing an unassisted triple play, something that has happened 15 times in Major League History. But, let’s be honest: that requires exceptionally good luck, and even better to see the 20-second play live on television.
So, my favorite to watch, and witness is the immaculate inning, where a pitcher throws nine strikes and gets three strikeouts. This has only happened 41 times in Major League history, most recently achieved on the Fourth of July by Chad Green of the Yankees against the Mets.
Whether you are a casual baseball fan or one that watches games daily, the no-hitter has become something of an expected occurrence. While an official no-hitter has only happened a handful of times this year, the lack of offense and run production illustrate a no-hitter is more common than it ever was. So while a pitcher may not keep a team hitless for nine innings, watching teams struggle to get three hits by day’s end isn’t enjoyable either. Therefore, let’s celebrate the rarities more and enjoy more dominance by offenses, like a four-homer game!