Defining No-hitters

Reading Albert Chen's story on "The Great Game Ever Pitched" in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated got me thinking. Did Major League Baseball go too far when it redefined its rules for no-hitters and perfect games?

The current official definition of a no-hitter was created by the major leagues' Committee for Statistical Accuracy on September 4, 1991. They redefined a no-hitter as a game in which the pitcher or pitchers on one team throw a complete game of 9 innings without surrendering a hit. A perfect game is defined the same way, but the pitcher(s) to do surrender a base runner. "Complete game of 9 innings" is the key here.

This decision was made largely to remove rain shortened no-hitters from the list (at the time, if a pitcher didn't allow a hit in a 5-inning rain shortened game, it was still considered a no hitter), and remove games in which the pitcher gave up no hits in a road game and lost (in those cases, the pitcher would have only pitched 8 innings, because the home team does not bat in the bottom of the ninth in a victory). I completely agree that in the above two cases, a game should not be considered a no-hitter.

But what about the case of Harvey Haddix, the pitcher who threw the "Greatest Game Ever Pitched" for the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 26th, 1959? Haddix tossed 12 perfect innings in that game, 3 more innings than required for a traditional "complete game". The problem was, the Pirates didn't score that day either, and Haddix finally gave up a hit (and ultimately lost the game) in the 13th inning. Until 1991, Harvey's game was considered a no-hitter and a perfect game. But no more. And that's a shame.

Was it the fault of Haddix that his teammates couldn't score? Was his feat any less impressive than perfect games thrown by Sandy Koufax, Jim Bunning, Catfish Hunter or any of the other 14 men on the perfect game list? No. In fact, it was more impressive. I'm pretty sure almost all of the 17 "perfect" pitchers would have given up a base runner in the 10th, 11th or 12th inning. The performance of Harvey Haddix was one in a million, and he should be recognized for it.

If a pitcher starts the game, and completes 9 innings without surrendering a hit, it should be a no-hitter. And if he doesn't surrender a base runner, it should be a perfect game.

In any case, whether the rules change or not, we'll never again see a game like the one Haddix pitched. With the pitch counts pitchers are on these days, we're lucky to see starters go 9 innings once in a while. 12 perfect innings? Only in our dreams, and in the memories of those who watched that incredible game in 1959.