The year of the no-hitter appears to be upon us. From his locker, Dan Haren has a good view of the Angels’ clubhouse television, and the latest breaking no-hit news.
“It seems like, at least once a week, someone has got one into the seventh or eighth inning,” Haren said. Matt Cain pitched a perfect game. Johan Santana threw a no-hitter, as did a sextet of Seattle Mariners. Ervin Santana and Jason Hammel threw one-hitters on the same day. R.A. Dickey threw one-hitters in back-to-back starts. All that in June, a month that is barely half over. “I guess it’s becoming the year of the pitcher, or something,” said the Angels’ Jered Weaver, who threw his no-hitter last month. The total this season is five, two shy of the record set in 1990 and matched in 1991. From 1992 until 2005, the first year players were subject to suspension for failing a drug test, the most no-hitters in a season was three. The total of one-hitters this season is 11, after 19 one-hitters last year and 23 two years ago, according to baseball-reference.com. The annual number of one-hitters from 1990 to 2005 ranged from seven to 19. “Obviously, they have cleaned up the game as far as the steroid thing goes,” Weaver said. “That’s put everybody on a level playing field.” Yet the consensus in the Angels’ clubhouse is that drug testing is far from the only factor in the flurry of low-hitters. “And that goes both ways,” C.J. Wilson said, “because there were pitchers doing it too.” Wilson talked of younger, less patient hitters who could give a pitcher a break or two. The drug bans - not only against steroids, but against amphetamines too - have reduced the effectiveness of older hitters, and teams have been more than happy to replace them with younger, cheaper players. But it’s not just about the money, Wilson said. “Teams are paying for defense,” Wilson said. “They are promoting guys to play defense.” Teams also are investing in technology, providing the data that encourages managers to apply the exaggerated shifts that can help foil hitters - three infielders on the left side against Albert Pujols, for instance, or three on the right side against David Ortiz. Torii Hunter talked about the reluctance - some might say the inability - of players to break up a no-hitter with a bunt. He said the high strike is being called more often, and the low strike too. “I feel the strike zone has changed,” Hunter said. “Pitchers are getting a lot more.” He also cited the explosion of hard-throwing relievers, noting that pitchers can come back from Tommy John surgery stronger than ever. “It’s like a new car,” Hunter said. “You’ve got a new arm.” Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said he was not ready to certify the low-hit games as a definitive trend. “I know the numbers are starting to give people some cause for conversation,” Scioscia said. “It might be too early to make any overriding statements about the decline of offense in baseball.” The numbers do favor the pitcher, and not just this season. Major league teams are averaging 4.3 runs per game, same as last year - the lowest such figure since 1992, according to baseball-reference.com. The majors’ on-base percentage of .319 is the lowest since 1988. The batting average of .253 is the lowest since 1972. However, even in a pitching-friendly environment, the margin between a good game and a no-hitter can be perilously slim - the call of an official scorer, the inch between a fair ball and a foul ball. “There’s no predictability in baseball,” Wilson said. “There might not be another no-hitter for two or three years. Each one is its own unique occurrence.” As a hitter, Hunter has made an uncomfortable peace with this era of the pitcher, and the increasing possibility of a no-hitter on any given night. “I’m torn,” he said. “If it’s a good pitcher’s duel in the ninth inning and somebody gets the big hit, that’s great baseball. Fans don’t like to see a 10-0 game, or a 20-2 game. “It’s a little more drama. It helps the game. As a position player, I’m like, ’Shoot, we’re losing a little edge.’” Haren said players are fans too, so much so that he ducked under the stands whenever he could to check on the final innings of Cain’s perfect game. Haren made his major league debut in 2003. He never saw a no-hitter in person until 2010, and then the deluge: Edwin Jackson with the Arizona Diamondbacks that year, Ervin Santana with the Angels last year, Weaver this year. At this rate, Haren’s turn ought to be coming soon. “I’ve never even gotten close,” he joked. “I can’t even remember going into the third inning without a hit right now.”
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