So Don Nottebart’s gem (see the Ex-Astros News 2022 thread) was the first in what to date are 13 no-hitters thrown by Astros pitchers. Those 13 no-no’s are tied for the most by any organization since 1962 when Houston entered the league (the Dodgers also have 13 during that period with Koufax contributing 4). That’s more than the Yankees have thrown (just 12) in their entire 119-year history. More than the Cardinals in their entire history (10 in 130 years). More than the Tigers in their history (8 in 121 years).
On the flip side, Houston has only had 5 no-hitters thrown against them. That’s the fewest by any franchise in existence since 1962 (the Rays, Nationals, Brewers, Rockies, Marlins, D-Backs and Royals have 5 or fewer no-no’s thrown against them but all those teams have only existed since 1969 or later). The pitchers blanking the Astros/Colt 45s in those 5 games: HOFer Juan Marichal, Jim Maloney (the second no-hitter of his career for the 1-time All-Star), Francisco Cordova/Ricardo Rincon (10 innings), Carlos Zambrano (a 3-time All-Star) and Matt Cain (lest ye forget a perfect game by another 3-time All-Star). Yes, that '97 no-no kinda sticks out given who was on the mound (Cordova) and the fact that the Killer Bs were in the lineup along with Luis Gonzalez and Bill Spiers.
So in looking at those 18 no-hitters thrown by or against Houston, was the Astrodome responsible for a good chunk of that? Not really. In terms of home parks, the Dome did produce 6 no-hitters with MMP contributing 2 and Colt Stadium in its 3 seasons also producing 2. 8 no-no’s were thrown at visiting ballparks. During the Astrodome era (1965-1999), 3 of those 8 no-no’s were thrown on the road. In other words during that 35 year period 6 no-hitters occurred at the Dome and 3 were on the road. Not a huge disparity.
(Quite a bit of the above info was gleaned from going through the excellent nonohitters.com website)
When, during the announcement, that PoS Selig said that having the game in Milwaukee was the “fairest” decision they could make, I spit a string of expletives that would have made my old shrimp boat skipper blush.
My hatred for the Selig is undiminished by the years.
In fact, it inspired a bit of verse based on an old WWII song:
The Devil went down to Cooperstown
one bright and sunny day.
He saw that God created baseball
so his children could watch and play.
So the Devil grabbed his satchel
full of greed and misery,
and he caught the Midnight Special
goin’ out to Milwaukee.
The Devil was so jealous
he turned green up to his horns,
so he sat upon that satchel,
that’s how Bud Selig was born.
I’m over the move too, especially now with the DH in the NL. I was enjoying the rivalry with the Cardinals, and it took a while to get to know the teams in the AL, but there’s some good stuff happening there. My only gripe now is so many west coast road games and late starts.