List of Chicago White Sox no-hitters
Encyclopedia
The Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
are a Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the American League Central
American League Central
The American League Central Division is one of six divisions in Major League Baseball. This division was formed in the realignment in 1994, and its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States...
division. Pitchers for the White Sox have thrown 17 no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s in franchise history
History of the Chicago White Sox
-1894–1900: Western League:The team began as the minor league Sioux City Cornhuskers and played in the Western League. The WL reorganized itself in November , with Ban Johnson as President. Johnson, a Cincinnati-based reporter, had been recommended by his friend Charles Comiskey, former major...
. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe 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 walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
(or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings". 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. A no-hitter is rare enough that two teams in Major League Baseball have never had a pitcher accomplish the feat. Two perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
s, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been pitched in White Sox 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 Charlie Robertson
Charlie Robertson
Charles Culbertson Robertson was an American Major League Baseball pitcher.Born in Dexter, Texas, and grew up in Nocona, Texas graduating from Nocona High School in 1915. Charles attended Austin College from 1917 until 1919. He began his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1919 at the age of 23...
in 1922, which was the first perfect game on the road in MLB history, and Mark Buehrle
Mark Buehrle
Mark Alan Buehrle is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He has pitched his entire baseball career for the Chicago White Sox, starting the opening game every season from 2002 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2011....
in 2009.
Nixey Callahan
Nixey Callahan
James Joseph "Nixey" Callahan was an American pitcher and left fielder in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Colts/Orphans, and Chicago White Sox. 80px|thumb|left|He also managed the White Sox, as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates...
threw the first no-hitter in White Sox history on September 20, 1902; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by Mark Buehrle
Mark Buehrle
Mark Alan Buehrle is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He has pitched his entire baseball career for the Chicago White Sox, starting the opening game every season from 2002 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2011....
on July 23, 2009. Only two left-handed pitchers have threw no-hitters in franchise and three most recent no-hitters: Wilson Alvarez
Wilson Alvarez
Wilson Eduardo Álvarez Fuenmayor is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher...
(in 1991) and Buehrle (in 2007 and 2009). The other 15 pitchers were right-handed. Two pitchers have thrown more than one no-hitter in a White Sox uniform, including a hall of famer Ed Walsh
Ed Walsh
Edward Augustine Walsh was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He holds the record for lowest career ERA, 1.82.-Baseball career:Born in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, Walsh had a brief though remarkable major league career...
and Buehrle. Eleven no-hitters were thrown at home and six on the road. They threw three in April, one in May, one in June, two in July, five in August, and five in September. The longest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Bill Dietrich
Bill Dietrich
William John "Bullfrog" Dietrich is a former professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1933-1948. He would play for the Washington Senators, Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Athletics.In 16 seasons, Dietrich posted a 108-128 career record...
and Bob Keegan
Bob Keegan
Robert Charles Keegan was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox from 1953-1958. He was originally from Rochester, New York....
, encompassing 20 years, 2 months, and 19 days from June 1, 1937 till August 20, 1957. Conversely, the shortest interval between no-hitters was between the games pitched by Vern Kennedy
Vern Kennedy
Lloyd Vernon Kennedy was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1934 through 1945, he played for the Chicago White Sox , Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns , Washington Senators , Cleveland Indians , Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds...
and Dietrich, encompassing merely 1 year, 9 months and 1 day from August 31, 1935 till June 1, 1937. They no-hit the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
the most, which occurred four times, which were defeated by Callahan in 1902, Smith in 1905, Robertson in 1920, and Joel Horlen in 1967. There are three no-hitters which the team allowed at least a run, ones by Joe Benz
Joe Benz
Joseph Louis Benz was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1911-1919. He played for the Chicago White Sox. Benz's two main pitches were the spitball and the knuckleball.-See also:...
, a combined no-hitter by Blue Moon Odom
Blue Moon Odom
Johnny Lee Odom was a Major League Baseball pitcher who won three consecutive World Series championships with the Oakland Athletics in , and .-Early years:...
and Francisco Barrios
Francisco Barrios
Francisco Javier Barrios was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox . Barrios batted and threw right-handed...
, and Joe Cowley
Joe Cowley
Joe Cowley is a columnist writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Cowley, a graduate of Kent State University, served the same role for the Sun-Times sister publication, the Tinley Park, Illinois Daily Southtown, for several years before being hired by the downtown paper before the 2006 season.Cowley was...
. The most baserunners allowed in a White Sox no-hitter was a combined no-hitter by Odom and Barrios (in 1976), who allowed 12. Of the 17 no-hitters, four have been won by a score of 6–0, more common than any other results. The largest margin of victory in a White Sox no-hitter was a 15–0 win by Frank Smith
Frank Smith (1900s pitcher)
Frank Elmer Smith was a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1904 to 1915. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Baltimore Terrapins, and Brooklyn Tip-Tops. Nicknamed "Piano Mover" because that was his offseason job, Smith was a mainstay of the White...
in 1905. The smallest margin of victory was a 1–0 wins by Smith in 1908 and by Odom and Barrios who combined to throw a no-hitter in a 2–1 victory in 1976.
The umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
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…
Strike zone
In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...
, which "is defined as that area over homeplate
Home Plate
Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
(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. 13 different umpires, such as Eric Cooper
Eric Cooper
Eric Richard Cooper , is an umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked both leagues since 1999.-Biography:...
, presided over each of the White Sox' 17 no-hitters. Cooper umpired both Buehrle's no-hitters.
The manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager include determining the starting rotation as well as the batting order and defensive lineup every game. 13 different managers, such as Ozzie Guillén
Ozzie Guillén
Oswaldo José "Ozzie" Guillén Barrios is a Venezuelan-American former Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Miami Marlins. He managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011 before asking for his release at the end of the 2011 season....
, have led the team during the White Sox's 17 no-hitters.
List of no-hitters in White Sox history
| ¶ | Indicates a perfect game Perfect game A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any... |
| £ | Pitcher was left-handed |
| * | Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of... |
| # | Date | Pitcher | Final score | Base- runners |
Opponent | Catcher | Plate umpire | Manager | Notes | Ref |
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| 1 | 3–0 | 3 | Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... |
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| 2 | 15–0 | 3 | Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... |
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| 3 | 1–0 | 4 | Philadelphian Athletics Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum.... |
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| 4 | * | 5–0 | 2 | Red Sox Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"... |
Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was the ballpark in which the Chicago White Sox played from 1910 to 1990. It was built by Charles Comiskey after a design by Zachary Taylor Davis, and was the site of four World Series and more than 6,000 major league games... (later known as Comiskey Park) |
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| 5 | 6–1 | 5 | Cleveland Indians Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona... |
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| 6 | 11–0 | 6 | @ St. Louis Browns Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league... |
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| 7 | 2–0 | 0 | @ Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... |
Perfect game A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any... in White Sox history and 5th in MLB history |
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| 8 | * | 6–0 | 2 | @ Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"... |
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| 9 | 5–0 | 4 | Cleveland Indians Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona... |
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| 10 | 8–0 | 2 | St. Louis Browns Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league... |
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| 11 | 6–0 | 2 | Washington Senators Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the... |
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| 12 | 6–0 | 2 | Detroit Tigers Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant... |
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| 13 | & Francisco Barrios Francisco Barrios Francisco Javier Barrios was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox . Barrios batted and threw right-handed... |
2–1 | 12 | @ Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum.... |
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| 14 | 7–1 | 7 | @ California Angels | |
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| 15 | 7–0 | 6 | @ Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league... |
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| 16 | 6–0 | 1 | Texas Rangers Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have... |
U.S. Cellular Field U.S. Cellular Field is a baseball ballpark in Chicago, Illinois. Owned by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, it is the home of the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball's American League. The park opened for the 1991 season, after the White Sox had spent 81 years at old Comiskey Park... (formerly Comiskey Park II) was opened in 1991 |
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| 17 | 5–0 | 0 | Tampa Bay Rays Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field... |
Mark Buehrle's perfect game Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays by retiring all 27 batters he faced on Thursday, July 23, 2009. This event took place in U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois in front of 28,036 fans in attendance... |
Footnotes
The two teams without a no-hitter in franchise history are the New York MetsNew York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
and the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
.