Dave Stewart and Fernando Valenzuela Throw No-Hitters on the Same Day

On June 29, 1990, two pitchers on opposite sides of the continent threw no-hitters within hours of each other. Dave Stewart of the Oakland Athletics no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays at the SkyDome. Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. It was the first time in modern baseball history that two no-hitters were thrown on the same day.

Stewart went first. He beat Toronto 5-0, walking three and striking out twelve. The right-hander was 33 years old and in the prime of a career that had taken years to develop. He had bounced between the Dodgers, Rangers, and Phillies before finding himself in Oakland in 1986. By 1990, he was one of the most dependable starters in the American League, a four-time 20-game winner.

Valenzuela's no-hitter came that evening on the West Coast. He beat St. Louis 6-0, walking three and striking out seven. Fernando was 29 and no longer the skinny kid from Etchohuaquila, Sonora, who had sparked "Fernandomania" in 1981. His screwball had lost some of its bite. His fastball sat in the mid-80s. But for nine innings against the Cardinals, nothing the St. Louis hitters swung at found open space.

The coincidence was remarkable. Neither pitcher was the type who usually threw no-hitters. Stewart had never thrown one before and never would again. Valenzuela had come close several times during his peak years but had always given up a late hit. Both were veterans who had taken unconventional paths to the top of the sport, Stewart an African American right-hander who spent years bouncing between organizations before finding a home in Oakland, Valenzuela a Mexican left-hander who arrived in Los Angeles speaking no English and became the biggest star in the game.

Stewart finished the 1990 season 22-11 and pitched Oakland into the World Series, where Cincinnati swept them. Valenzuela went 13-13, and the Dodgers released him in March 1991 before the next season began. Their tandem no-hitters on June 29 remain the kind of coincidence that baseball produces just often enough to sustain the belief that the sport has a narrative sense of timing.