The Cubs’ left-hander did not make baseball history with his eventual eight-inning, one-hit effort, but he did add to an ongoing list of pitchers with near no-hitters over the last couple of years.
Lilly became the 16th pitcher already this year to take a no-hitter into the seventh inning or later. Since 1991, only 2009 has featured more pitchers (17) taking no-hitters into the seventh through June 13.
So why is there an increase in near-baseball immortality?
One possible explanation is the elimination of performance-enhancing drugs. Baseball is moving from a steroid era to a shutout era.
The numbers don’t lie.
From 1967 to 1977, before steroids took their place in baseball, there were a total of 43 no-hitters, an average of almost four per year.
In 1990 and 1991, right before steroids really took off, there were seven no-nos thrown in each year, 14 combined.
Then, from 1994 to 2004, during the height of the steroid era, there were just 20 no-hitters thrown in the major leagues.
But now that steroids are basically a nonfactor in Major League Baseball, it’s not surprising to see pitchers going deeper into games without giving up hits.
Here’s an interesting stat: From 1996 to 2001, the Atlanta Braves led all of baseball with a 4.81 ERA. The Braves won the NL East every year during that span, and their pitching staff was led by future Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and John Smoltz in addition to many other notable hurlers.
Now fast-forward a few years. From 2007 to 2009, the Los Angeles Dodgers led baseball with a 3.76 team ERA. A formidable staff, yes, but nothing compared to the Braves’ in the mid-‘90s.
So why was Atlanta’s ERA more than a run higher? Why are we seeing more no-hitters and near no-hitters?
The elimination of steroids is as good a guess as anything else.
What’s the reason for so many near no-hitters in baseball this season?survey software
