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- ⚾ Dave Stieb: Finally gets his no hitter
⚾ Dave Stieb: Finally gets his no hitter
After 5 near misses he finally gets his no hitter
Few pitchers ever endured heartbreak like Toronto’s ace Dave Stieb. Three times in 1988–89, he stood one out away from history, only to see it slip away – Julio Franco’s bad hop single, Jim Traber’s bloop, and Roberto Kelly’s double with two outs in the ninth of a perfect game bid. Stieb became the face of near-misses.
On September 2, 1990, at Cleveland Stadium, his luck finally changed. The Blue Jays, chasing the AL East, handed the ball to their workhorse right-hander. Though Stieb admitted afterward he didn’t feel sharp, his command grew as the game went on. Pat Borders twice gunned down would-be base stealers early, and by the sixth inning Stieb was in full control, striking out the side for the second time.
Fred McGriff gave him run support with two home runs, one in the fourth and another in the ninth, and Kenny Williams and Manny Lee chipped in doubles. By the late innings, Stieb had retired 15 straight hitters and the Toronto bench grew tense, careful not to break the unspoken code of talking to a pitcher working on a no-hitter.
In the ninth, two quick outs brought the crowd – and nervous teammates – to their feet. Fittingly, it came down to Alex Cole, the same leadoff man Stieb had walked in the first. Cole worked a walk again, bringing up Jerry Browne, who lined Stieb’s 123rd pitch into right field. Junior Felix camped under it, shielding his eyes from the Cleveland sun, and squeezed it for the final out.
At last, Stieb had done it – the first no-hitter in Blue Jays history. After years of cruel fate, the ace who wrote a book called Tomorrow I’ll Be Perfect finally found perfection in the form of a no-hit gem.
“I can hardly believe what I did today,” Stieb said afterward. “I wasn’t nervous. Maybe being there so many times before helped. But really, there’s so much luck in a no-hitter. That’s what today was – all luck.”
For Toronto fans, it was much more than luck. It was redemption for one of the best pitchers of the 1980s, a star who never quit chasing the dream.
Parts of this article came from: This article was published in SABR’s “No-Hitters” (2017), edited by Bill Nowlin. To read more Games Project stories from this book, click here.
Did you know?
September 2, 1912 -- In a rainy doubleheader at the Polo Grounds, Boston Red Sox ace Joe Wood tops the New York Highlanders in the nightcap, 1 - 0, for his 30th win and his 13th straight victory. It is Wood's 8th shutout and second in a row. Boston takes the opening squeaker, 2 - 1 to finish the year in New York with 10 wins in 10 tries. With three wins last year, and five wins in their first five road games with New York in 1913, Boston ties the major league record for most consecutive wins on the road against one team (18). (Still one of my favorite interviews below)
TRIVIA
Who was the first twentieth-century major leaguer to steal at least seventy bases in three consecutive seasons?
Hint: #1 He partially overlapped that stretch by leading the league three straight seasons in caught stealing.
Hint: #2 He still holds the all-time mark for number of outs made in a single season.
September 2, 1939 — When Babe Dahlgren strikes out while being given an intentional walk and George Selkirk and Joe Gordon try to steal home on successive pitches by trotting to the plate, Red Sox fans throw a barrage of garbage onto the playing field at Fenway Park to protest the Yankees making deliberate outs to take advantage of the 6:30 Sunday curfew. Umpire Cal Hubbard rules the Boston crowd’s action makes it impossible to continue the game and awards the game as a forfeit to the Yankees with a 9 – 0 ‘official’ score.
September 2, 1955, In the second inning of the Chicago Cubs' 12-2 rout of St. Louis at Wrigley Field, Ernie Banks sets the record for home runs hit by a shortstop when he hits a two-run, two-out shot off Redbird southpaw Paul LaPalme for his 40th round-tripper. 'Mr. Cub' will extend the mark to 44 homers this season and will boost the total to 48 in 1958.
Banks’ home run surpasses the mark of 39 homers established by Vern Stephens of the Boston Red Sox.
Ten years later:
September 2, 1965 -- At Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs beat St. Louis Cardinals, 5 - 3, as Ernie Banks hits his 400th home run, a three-run shot off Curt Simmons in the 3rd. Simmons teed up the 400th home run of Willie Mays in 1963. Banks will end the season with 28 home runs and 106 RBI. Ron Santo and Billy Williams will also knock in over 100 runs, the only team with three such sluggers, but the Cubs will finish 8th.
'Mr. Cub' will finish his 19-year career with 512 home runs, including 277 home runs stroked as a shortstop, the record at the time of his retirement.
September 2, 1960 -- Boston Red Sox legend Ted Williams homers off Washington Senator right-hander Don Lee in the eighth inning of the Red Sox's 5-1 victory over Washington at Fenway Park. As a rookie in 1939, the Boston outfielder also went deep off Lee's dad, Thornton.
September 2, 1960 -- Milt Pappas stops New York on three hits - 2 by Tony Kubek - to give Baltimore a 5 - 0 lead in the first of a 3-game showdown. The Orioles now trail New York by .003.
September 2, 1967 -- Minnesota takes the American League lead by a half game on Dave Boswell's 5 - 0 victory over Denny McLain and Detroit. Bonus audio below of the White Sox and Red Sox game called by Harry Caray, the first five minutes are all about the impossible dream Red Sox.
September 2, 1971, At the Astrodome, trailing 3-2 to Los Angeles, and with the bases full, Houston Astros outfielder Cesar Cedeno bloops a pitch off Claude Osteen into shallow right field. Bill Buckner and Jim Lefebvre collide while trying to catch the ball and it trickles into the corner. By the time the ball is retrieved, Cedeno has a 170-ft. inside-the-park grand slam to highlight a 9-3 victory.
September 2, 1972 -- In his major league debut, Doug Rau throws a three-hitter, beating St. Louis at Busch Stadium, 5-1. In his first big-league at-bat, the 23 year-old Dodger southpaw helps his cause with an RBI-triple in the second inning. Listen to the game here.
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September 2, 1975 -- Johnny LeMaster becomes the second player to hit an inside-the-park home run in his first major league at-bat, dashing around the bases on a fourth-inning pitch thrown by Don Sutton in the Giants' 7-3 win over LA at Candlestick Park. The San Francisco shortstop joins Luke Stuart, who accomplished the feat at the Polo Grounds while playing for the 1921 Browns.
In 12 years and 3,191 at bats, LeMaster will hit only 22 home runs.
September 2, 1986 -- The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs use a major league record 53 players in the game. Billy Hatcher's home run off Greg Maddux in the top of the 18th inning is the difference in Houston's 8-7 victory at Wrigley Field. (listen to his HR & Final out)
September 2, 1996, Mike Greenwell of the Boston Red Sox sets a major league record by driving in all of his team’s runs in a 9-8 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Boston right fielder, who has already collected a double, home run, and a grand slam, knocks in the decisive run with a 10th-inning single in the Kingdome contest. No other player at the time had ever driven in nine or more runs for his team's total score.
On September 2, 1999 — Cal Ripken, Jr. sets off a very enthusiastic ovation at Camden Yards when he becomes the 29th major leaguer to hit 400 career home runs. The Oriole third baseman connects for a three-run blast with two outs off right-hander Rolando Arrojo in the third inning of the Birds’ 11-6 victory over Tampa Bay.
September 2, 2001 — A pitching duel between former Yankee teammates David Cone and Mike Mussina saw New York's Mike Mussina came within one strike of pitching the first perfect game in the 89-year history of Fenway Park. Over eight innings Mussina did not allow a single Red Sox baserunner. Red Sox pitcher David Cone kept pace keeping the Yankees scoreless till the top of the 9th when the Yanks would push one across the dish. Mussina's bid was broken up by a clean single from pinch hitter Carl Everett. Prior to this, Everett was 1 for 8 with seven strikeouts against Mussina. The Yankees would hold on to win 1-0.
September 2 features dozens of broadcasts from, 50s 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Join below to listen!
Quote of the day:
"There's so much luck involved in a no-hitter, and that's all it was today," Dave Stieb, "It didn't make me any greater a pitcher by doing that... but it takes a lot of luck"
Milestones
Birthdays:Notable: Rick Manning | Debuts:Notable: Bo Jackson |
Final Games:Highlights: Davy Jones | Passings:Notable: Jim Wilson |
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