List of Kansas City Royals no-hitters

The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Kansas City, Missouri. Formed in 1969, they play in the American League Central division. Pitchers for the Royals have thrown 4 no-hitters in franchise history.[1] A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings".[2] 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.[3] A no-hitter is rare enough that one team in Major League Baseball, the San Diego Padres, has never had a pitcher accomplish the feat. No perfect games, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been thrown in Royals history.[4] As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game."[2]

The umpire 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… [the umpire's judgment on such matters] is final."[5] Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining the strike zone, 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."[5] These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter.[6]

The manager is another integral part of any no-hitter. The tasks of the manager include determining the starting rotation as well as batting order and defensive lineup every game.

List of no-hitters in Royals history

   Indicates a perfect game
 £  Pitcher was left-handed
 *  Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
# Date Pitcher Final score Base-
runners		 Opponent Catcher Plate umpire Manager Notes Ref
1 April 27, 1973 Busby, SteveSteve Busby (1) 3–0 6 @ Detroit Tigers Healy, FranFran Healy (1) Rice, JohnJohn Rice McKeon, JackJack McKeon (1)
  • First no-hitter in franchise history
  • First Royals no-hitter on the road
  • First right-handed pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history
  • First no-hitter by a pitcher who did not come to bat the entire game, under the American League's new designated hitter rule
 [7]
2 June 19, 1974 Busby, SteveSteve Busby (2) 3–0 1 @ Milwaukee Brewers Healy, FranFran Healy (2) Brinkman, JoeJoe Brinkman McKeon, JackJack McKeon (2) [8]
3 May 14, 1977 Colborn, JimJim Colborn 6–0 2 Texas Rangers Porter, DarrellDarrell Porter Deegan, BillBill Deegan Herzog, WhiteyWhitey Herzog
  • First Royals no-hitter at home
 [9]
4 August 26, 1991 Saberhagen, BretBret Saberhagen 7–0 3 Chicago White Sox Mayne, BrentBrent Mayne Hendry, TedTed Hendry McRae, HalHal McRae
  • Most recent no-hitter in franchise history
 [10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kansas City Royals Franchise History". ESPN. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  3. ↑ Kurkjian, Tim (June 29, 2008). "No-hit win makes no sense, except in baseball". ESPN. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Kansas City Royals". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Umpires: Rules of Interest". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  6. ↑ Bronson, Eric. Baseball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Batter's Box, Pgs 98–99. ISBN 0-8126-9556-9. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  7. ↑ "April 27, 1973 Kansas City Royals at Detroit Tigers Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  8. ↑ "June 19, 1974 Kansas City Royals at Milwaukee Brewers Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  9. ↑ "May 14, 1977 Texas Rangers at Kansas City Royals Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
  10. ↑ "August 26, 1991 Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals Play by Play and Box Score". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 11, 2011.

External links

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