David Michael Morehead (born September 5, 1942) is a former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
. A right-hander, Morehead pitched for the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
(1963–68) and
Kansas City Royals (1969–70).
As a rookie in Morehead broke into the Red Sox starting rotation and posted a 10–13 record with a 3.81
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
. He
shut out Shut Out may refer to:
* Shutout, a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring
* ''Shut Out'' (album), a 1977 album by Paul Jabara
* "Shut Out" (song), a 1977 song by Paul Jabara and Donna Summer
* "Shutout", a song by The Walk ...
the
Washington Senators in his Major League debut on April 13. On May 12 of that same year, he pitched a one-hitter against the same Senators, the lone hit coming on a
Chuck Hinton
Charles Edward Hinton Jr. (May 3, 1934 – January 27, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, Hinton played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1961–64), Cleveland Indians (1965–67, 1969–71) an ...
home run.
In Morehead went 8–15 and his ERA ballooned to 4.97. In he tied for the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
lead with 18 losses, against 10 victories, for a Red Sox team that finished next-to-last, with 100 losses. On September 16 of the latter year, the same day the Red Sox fired
Pinky Higgins
Michael Franklin "Pinky" Higgins (May 27, 1909 – March 21, 1969) was an American third baseman, manager, front office executive and scout in Major League Baseball who played for three teams and served as manager or general manager of the Boston ...
as general manager, Morehead
no-hit
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
2–0 before only 1,247 fans in a day game at
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...
, the lone baserunner coming on
Rocky Colavito
Rocco Domenico "Rocky" Colavito Jr. (born August 10, 1933) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1955 to 1968, most prominently as a m ...
's second-inning walk. Not until
Hideo Nomo
is a Japanese former baseball pitcher who played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He achieved early success in his native country, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to . He then exploited a l ...
in would another Red Sox pitch a no-hitter, and the next no-hitter at Fenway Park wouldn't come until (
Derek Lowe), It was the fourth no-hitter by a Red Sox pitcher in a ten-year period, with
Mel Parnell
Melvin Lloyd Parnell (June 13, 1922 – March 20, 2012) was a professional baseball pitcher who spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Boston Red Sox. Listed at and , he threw and batted left-handed.
Playing career
Parne ...
pitching one in and
Earl Wilson and
Bill Monbouquette
William Charles Monbouquette (August 11, 1936 – January 25, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox (1958–65), Detroit Tigers (19 ...
both pitching one in . Parnell's and Wilson's no-hitters, like Morehead's, had also been pitched at Fenway Park—one of Major League Baseball's most notorious hitter-friendly stadiums. It would be another 37 years before a Red Sox pitcher threw a no-hitter at Fenway.
Over the next three years, Morehead would be beset by arm ailments that limited him to 33 games pitched—one fewer than in 1965. He was a member of the
Carl Yastrzemski-led Red Sox team that won the American League pennant and pitched two games in
relief
Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
in the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
, which the Red Sox lost to the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
in seven games. Morehead was selected in the
expansion draft
An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...
by the Kansas City Royals and pitched in 21 games in , 19 in relief. In he pitched in 28 games and posted a 3.62 ERA, the lowest of his career. In
spring training of , the Royals released him; he had pitched his final game at 28 years of age, the arm ailments having ended his career prematurely.
In his career, Morehead won 40 games against 64 losses with a 4.15 ERA and 627 strikeouts in 819
innings pitched. He also exhibited periods of wildness,
walking
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...
463 batters during his career. In each of his first three seasons, Morehead was second in the American League in walks with 99, 112 and 113 respectively.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
External links
Boxscore of Morehead's no hitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morehead, Dave
Boston Red Sox players
Kansas City Royals players
Baseball players from San Diego
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
Seattle Rainiers players
Johnstown Red Sox players
Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
1942 births
Living people
Arizona Instructional League Royals players
Florida Instructional League Red Sox players