10 Amazin’ Mets facts about Johan Santana’s no-hitter |

Johan Santana frothing at the mouth in excitement after his no-hitter / USPRESSWIRE

Here are 10 facts about The Mets and Johan Santana following his no-hitter for the Mets.

1. The Mets had a whopping 26 compete-game 1-hitters prior to Santana’s no-hitter:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	H
1	Johan Santana	2012-06-01	NYM	STL	0

2	R.A. Dickey	2010-08-13	NYM	PHI	1
3	Jonathon Niese	2010-06-10 (2)	NYM	SDP	1
4	John Maine	2007-07-29	NYM	WSN	1
5	Tom Glavine	2007-06-27	NYM	STL	1
6	Aaron Heilman	2005-04-15	NYM	FLA	1
7	Tom Glavine	2004-05-23	NYM	COL	1
8	Steve Trachsel	2003-08-18	NYM	COL	1
9	Steve Trachsel	2003-06-15	NYM	ANA	1
10	Shawn Estes	2002-04-26	NYM	MIL	1
11	David Cone	1991-09-20	NYM	STL	1
12	Pete Schourek	1991-09-10	NYM	MON	1
13	David Cone	1988-08-29	NYM	SDP	1
14	Dwight Gooden	1984-09-07	NYM	CHC	1
15	Terry Leach	1982-10-01	NYM	PHI	1
16	Tom Seaver	1977-04-17	NYM	CHC	1
17	Jon Matlack	1974-06-29	NYM	STL	1
18	Jon Matlack	1973-07-10	NYM	HOU	1
19	Tom Seaver	1972-07-04 (1)	NYM	SDP	1
20	Tom Seaver	1971-09-26	NYM	PIT	1
21	Gary Gentry	1971-04-18 (1)	NYM	PIT	1
22	Tom Seaver	1970-05-15	NYM	PHI	1
23	Gary Gentry	1970-05-13	NYM	CHC	1
24	Nolan Ryan	1970-04-18	NYM	PHI	1
25	Tom Seaver	1969-07-09	NYM	CHC	1
26	Jack Hamilton	1966-05-04	NYM	STL	1
27	Al Jackson	1962-06-22 (1)	NYM	HOU	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

2. The Mets previously had 8 other combined 1-hitters:

Date	Tm	Opp	H
2008-07-12	NYM	COL	1
2007-09-29	NYM	FLA	1
2006-09-03	NYM	HOU	1
2003-06-17	NYM	FLA	1
2001-07-14	NYM	BOS	1
1991-09-14	NYM	STL	1
1985-05-11	NYM	PHI	1
1985-04-16	NYM	PIT	1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

3. There have been 6 complete-game no-hitters thrown against the Mets:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp
1	Darryl Kile	1993-09-08	HOU	NYM
2	Ed Halicki	1975-08-24 (2)	SFG	NYM
3	Bill Stoneman	1972-10-02 (1)	MON	NYM
4	Bob Moose	1969-09-20	PIT	NYM
5	Jim Bunning	1964-06-21 (1)	PHI	NYM
6	Sandy Koufax	1962-06-30	LAD	NYM

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

There have been no combined no-hitters against the Mets.

4. Santana had allowed just 1 hit in a start three times previously:

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc
1	2012-06-01	NYM	STL	W 8-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	0	5	8	0	134	77	90

2	2007-04-08	MIN	CHW	W 3-1	GS-7 ,W	7.0	1	0	0	3	9	0	97	63	81
3	2004-09-03	MIN	KCR	W 2-0	GS-7 ,W	7.0	1	0	0	1	11	0	106	71	85
4	2004-07-17	MIN	KCR	W 4-1	GS-8 ,W	8.0	1	1	0	4	9	0	115	70	83

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

However, none of these were complete games.

5. Santana’s previous low for hits in a complete game was 3, done 3 times:

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc
1	2012-06-01	NYM	STL	W 8-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	0	5	8	0	134	77	90

2	2010-07-06	NYM	CIN	W 3-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	3	5	0	113	78	83
3	2008-09-27	NYM	FLA	W 2-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	3	9	0	117	74	87
4	2008-08-17	NYM	PIT	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	0	7	0	113	85	88
5	2005-08-12	MIN	OAK	W 1-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	1	9	0	110	80	89
6	2004-07-06	MIN	KCR	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	2	13	0	114	81	92

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

I wonder what the record is among guys who’ve thrown a no-hitter for highest number of hits allowed in their next-lowest complete game? Santana’s got to be up there.

6. Santana’s no-hitter ranks as the 3rd-highest Game Score of his career:

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc
1	2007-08-19	MIN	TEX	W 1-0	GS-8 ,W	8.0	2	0	0	0	17	0	112	83	95

2	2004-07-06	MIN	KCR	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	2	13	0	114	81	92

3	2012-06-01	NYM	STL	W 8-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	0	5	8	0	134	77	90

4	2006-09-05	MIN	TBD	W 8-0	GS-8 ,W	8.0	2	0	0	1	12	0	95	70	89
5	2005-08-12	MIN	OAK	W 1-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	1	9	0	110	80	89

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

His higher Game Scores came in games with a lot of strikeouts, understandably.

7. Last night’s no-hitter had the most pitches Santana’s ever thrown in a game:

Rk	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	Pit	Str	GSc
1	2012-06-01	NYM	STL	W 8-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	0	5	8	0	134	77	90

2	2008-09-23	NYM	CHC	W 6-2	GS-8 ,W	8.0	7	2	2	2	10	0	125	86	68

3	2010-06-02	NYM	SDP	L 1-5	GS-7	7.0	5	0	0	5	3	0	123	74	65

4	2008-08-22	NYM	HOU	W 3-0	GS-7 ,W	7.0	8	0	0	1	5	0	121	86	65

5	2009-05-27	NYM	WSN	W 7-4	GS-6 ,W	6.0	3	3	3	6	11	1	120	73	59
6	2006-04-21	MIN	CHW	L 1-7	GS-7 ,L	7.0	5	2	2	3	6	1	120	81	62

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

In his recap JA wrote extensively about this, so I won’t belabor it. I will say, though, that I fear serious repercussions for Santana over this. It wouldn’t be the first time a guy with a surgically-repaired arm threw a ton of pitches in a big game and then had arm trouble in the weeks following.

8. Santana’s game ranks in a tie for the 43rd-highest Game Score for a Mets starting pitcher. Here are the leaders:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	GSc
1	Rob Gardner	1965-10-02 (2)	NYM	PHI	T 0-0	GS-15	15.0	5	0	0	2	7	0	112

2	Tom Seaver	1974-05-01	NYM	LAD	L 1-2	GS-12	12.0	3	1	1	2	16	1	106

3	David Cone	1991-10-06	NYM	PHI	W 7-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	3	0	0	1	19	0	99

4	Tom Seaver	1971-08-11	NYM	SDP	L 0-1	GS-10	10.0	3	0	0	2	14	0	98

5	Tom Seaver	1970-05-15	NYM	PHI	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	1	0	0	3	15	0	97
6	Jerry Koosman	1969-05-28	NYM	SDP	W 1-0	GS-10	10.0	4	0	0	2	15	0	97

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

I’d never even heard of Rob Gardner. He ranks up there thanks to pitching 15 innings while allowing only 5 hits and no runs…in a tie game!

9. Of the 125 complete-game no-hitters thrown in the last 50 years, Santana’s ranks way down the list (78th) in terms of WPA. This is because the Mets scored 2 runs in the 4th inning, giving them a distinct advantage in winning. By the time they went up 5-0, the outs Santana recorded weren’t worth much more WPA. Here are the top such no-hitters, with Francisco Liriano’s from last year ranking #1 overall:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	IP	SO	WPA	RE24	aLI
1	Francisco Liriano	2011-05-03	MIN	CHW	W 1-0	9.0	2	0.846	4.651	1.657
2	Jim Maloney	1965-08-19 (1)	CIN	CHC	W 1-0	10.0	12	0.841	4.563	2.025
3	Roy Halladay	2010-05-29	PHI	FLA	W 1-0	9.0	11	0.838	4.520	1.224
4	Edwin Jackson	2010-06-25	ARI	TBR	W 1-0	9.0	6	0.815	4.248	1.778
5	Mike Witt	1984-09-30	CAL	TEX	W 1-0	9.0	10	0.812	4.581	1.181
6	Jose Jimenez	1999-06-25	STL	ARI	W 1-0	9.0	8	0.799	5.044	1.231
7	Ken Holtzman	1971-06-03	CHC	CIN	W 1-0	9.0	6	0.753	3.709	1.440
8	Dennis Eckersley	1977-05-30	CLE	CAL	W 1-0	9.0	12	0.737	4.379	1.147
9	Kevin Millwood	2003-04-27	PHI	SFG	W 1-0	9.0	10	0.733	4.329	1.153
10	Nolan Ryan	1975-06-01	CAL	BAL	W 1-0	9.0	9	0.701	3.966	1.384

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

It should come as no surprise that these were all 1-0 games.

10. Finally, of his 134 pitches, only 77 of them were strikes. That’s a surprisingly low ratio of just 57% strikes. Going back to 1988, there have been only 10 CG no-hitters with a strike rate of 58% or lower:

Rk	Player	Date	Tm	Opp	Rslt	App,Dec	IP	R	ER	BB	SO	Pit	Str	GSc
1	Johan Santana	2012-06-01	NYM	STL	W 8-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	5	8	134	77	90
2	Francisco Liriano	2011-05-03	MIN	CHW	W 1-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	6	2	123	66	83
3	Edwin Jackson	2010-06-25	ARI	TBR	W 1-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	8	6	149	79	85
4	Ubaldo Jimenez	2010-04-17	COL	ATL	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	6	7	128	72	88
5	A.J. Burnett	2001-05-12	FLA	SDP	W 3-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	9	7	129	65	85
6	Dwight Gooden	1996-05-14	NYY	SEA	W 2-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	6	5	134	74	86
7	Al Leiter	1996-05-11	FLA	COL	W 11-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	2	6	103	58	91
8	Scott Erickson	1994-04-27	MIN	MIL	W 6-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	4	5	128	71	88
9	Jim Abbott	1993-09-04	NYY	CLE	W 4-0	SHO9 ,W	9.0	0	0	5	3	119	66	85
10	Matt Young	1992-04-12 (1)	BOS	CLE	L 1-2	CG 8 ,L	8.0	2	2	7	6	120	63	73

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/2/2012.

Meanwhile there have been 48 other no-hitters in that time period with a higher strike rate.

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John Autin

12 years ago

Great stuff, Andy. I’m a little surprised by the implications of the last item. I would have guessed that strike rates in no-hitters were not significantly higher, on average, than in other games.

I’m not generally a big believer in the concept of “effectively wild.” But it did seem to me while watching the game that Johan’s particular flavor of wildness — seemed like he threw a good handful of fastballs that were very high or wide — helped a little in keeping the hitters from picking up the rhythm of his change-up.

And nice photo selection, as usual. Maybe I’m gushing, but Johan is the only guy I remember who looks dignified even after a shaving-cream facial.

Doug

Re: Rob Gardner and the 112 game score

Gardner’s mound opponent that day was Chris Short, who also pitched 15 innings. Short allowed nine hits, but his 18 strikeouts resulted in an even higher game score than Gardner, at 114.

e pluribus munu

Reply to Doug

To add an appendix to Doug’s footnote to this detail from John’s post, the Gardner-Short 0-0 tie (which neither pitcher was man enough to complete) was the nightcap of a twin bill; in the opener, Jim Bunning shut out the Mets on two hits, with a game score of 92. I wonder how many teams have had opposing SPs compile a 206 game score against them in a single day. (The Mets broke out the day after in a dramatic season finale, roughing up Ray Culp for an unearned run to limit his game score to 82.)

Reply to e pluribus munu

You flatter me, e — this is Andy’s post. 🙂

Reply to John Autin

Whoops – thanks, John – sorry Andy! I see a happy Mets headline & I think of John.

Hartvig

It really is amazin’ that a team that has played virtually all it’s home games in what were considered pitchers parks plus had Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Nolan Ryan on the roster all at the same time plus the likes of David Cone, Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen, Pedro Martinez, Frank Viola, Bob Ojeda, Jan Matlack, Sid Fernandez and various other quality pitchers all play for them at one time or another and to have not had this happen before. There has even been a no hitter thrown at Coors Field, for Pete’s sake.

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Andy

Reply to Hartvig

That Jan Matlack was a very manly Jan.

Reply to Andy

O ja, he sure vas

MikeD

I think that goes to show how random no-hitters really are. The Mets had 26, CG, one-hitters in their history*, so just a little bit of luck and they could have had a few. That’s why I jokingly said last night that the Mets will probably now toss two more no-hitters this year, or even this week!

* Any way to determine if that’s a high number, low number or normal number for a franchise that’s been around for 50 years?

Voomo Zanzibar

1962. Al Jackson.

Jackson threw 4 shutouts that year.
His record for the season: 8-20

(2nd in losses, 3rd in shutouts.)
__________

He also went 8-20 in 1965, with 3 shutouts.

Reply to Voomo Zanzibar

Poor Al. He finally gets out of New York to play for a team with a winning record that would go on to win the World Series the following year, puts up an ERA+ of 144 in 232 innings and he still can’t buy a winning record.

Neil L.

Wow, a very nice blog, Andy.

For an “expansion” franchise, were the Mets blessed with better than average pitching from the start?

Shping

Not the first year, in 1962. Roger Craig was there, but didnt know the split-finger yet, and he and rest of staff yielded 948 runs! (but “only” 801 earned)

I had never heard of Rob Gardner either, but looking at his minor league record and the start to his MLB career, it’s an example of how young pitchers were treated differently back then. As an 18-year-old, he pithed more than 240 innings in his first season of minor league ball, a number he’d never reach again during his career on any level. Then he gets called up to the majors late in the season, and as a 20-year-old is asked to pitch a 15-inning game, despite starting only eleven games in the minors that year, having been used more… Read more »

koma

@Andy “5. Santana’s previous low for hits in a complete game was 3, done 3 times:” only for the Mets;-) “I wonder what the record is among guys who’ve thrown a no-hitter for highest number of hits allowed in their next-lowest complete game? Santana’s got to be up there.” There where 6 players with their only career complete game being a no-hitter Bobo Hollowman, Bud Smith, Devern Hansack, Francisco Liriano, Jonathan Sánchez and of course Philip Humber with his perfect game as his only complete game. And then there are 4 players with no-hitters, who have next-best-games with 4 hits… Read more »