The

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

are a

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), ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

based in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. They play in the

American League West The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

division. Also known in their early years as the "Philadelphia Athletics" (1901–1954) and "Kansas City Athletics" (1954–1967), pitchers for the Athletics have thrown thirteen

no-hitter 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 ...

s in franchise history, five during the Philadelphia years and eight after the move to Oakland but none during the Kansas City era. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a

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 ...

(or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings", though one or more

batters Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

"may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference". No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form. Two

perfect games Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been pitched in Athletics history. As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game." These feats were achieved by

Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...

in 1968, which was the first perfect game in

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 ...

history since 1922, and

Dallas Braden Dallas Lee Braden (born August 13, 1983) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to as a member of the Oakland Athletics and, wher ...

in 2010, which was the second perfect game in the majors – both against the same team – in ten months.

Weldon Henley Weldon Henley (October 25, 1880 – November 16, 1960), was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1903 to 1907. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Dodgers. Henley made his major league debut on April 23, 1903. He pitched a no ...

threw the first no-hitter in Athletics history on July 22, 1905; the most recent no hitter was thrown by Mike Fiers on May 7, 2019. Only three left-handed pitchers have thrown no-hitters in franchise history and the other nine pitchers were right-handed.

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

is the only pitcher in Athletics history to have thrown more than one no-hitter in an Athletics uniform, include the starting pitcher in a combined no-hitter. Nine no-hitters were thrown at home and three on the road. They threw four in May, one in June, one in July, one in August, and five in September. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by

Bullet Joe Bush Leslie Ambrose "Bullet Joe" Bush (November 27, 1892 – November 1, 1974) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in ...

and Fowler, encompassing 29 years and 14 days from August 26, 1916, till September 9, 1945. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by

Sean Manaea Sean Anthony Manaea ( ; born February 1, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres. He played co ...

and

Mike Fiers Michael Bruce Fiers (; born June 15, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. Fiers has ...

, encompassing merely 1 year and 16 days from April 21, 2018, till May 7, 2019. The Athletics have no-hit the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

(formerly "Washington Senators") most often: three times by McCahan (in 1947), Hunter (in 1968), and

(in 1970). None of those no-hitters saw the Athletics allow a run through a combination of errors, walks, hit by pitch or catcher’s interference. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was by Bush (in 1916), who allowed five. Of the thirteen no-hitters, three have been won by a score of 3–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a no-hitter were 6–0 wins by Henley in 1905 and Blue in 1970. The smallest margin of victory was a 1–0 win by Dick Fowler in 1945. The

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

is also an integral part of any no-hitter. The task of the umpire in a baseball game is to make any decision “which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out…

he umpire’s judgment on such matters He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

is final.” Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kn ...

, which “is defined as that area over homeplate ''(sic)'' the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap.” These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter. A different umpire presided over each of the Athletics’ twelve no-hitters. The

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager is to determine the starting rotation as well as batting order and defensive lineup every game. Managers choosing the right pitcher and right defensive lineup at a right game at a right place at a right time would contribute to a no-hitter. Eight different managers, such as

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

who managed the team for 50 years, have involved in the Athletics’ twelve no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Athletics history

References

{{Oakland Athletics

No-hitters 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 ...

List of no-hitters in Athletics history

See also

References