Nolan Ryan Throws His Second No-Hitter of 1973

On July 15, 1973, Nolan Ryan of the California Angels no-hit the Detroit Tigers 6-0 at Tiger Stadium, striking out 17 batters in the process. It was Ryan's second no-hitter in two months, following his first on May 15 against the Kansas City Royals, and it established him as the most overpowering pitcher in the game.

Ryan allowed only four baserunners, all on walks, and retired the final 14 batters he faced. His 17 strikeouts set a record for most in a no-hitter at the time. The fastball that night was as electric as any Ryan had thrown in his career. Tigers hitters swung through pitch after pitch, unable to catch up to a heater that regularly hit triple digits on the stadium's rudimentary speed gun.

The game produced one of the most colorful moments in no-hitter history. Detroit slugger Norm Cash, who had struck out repeatedly throughout the game, walked to the plate in the ninth inning carrying a table leg instead of a bat. Home plate umpire Ron Luciano ordered Cash to get a real bat, and Cash complied, only to pop out to left field. Cash told Luciano, "Why not? I won't hit him anyway."

The no-hitter evened Ryan's record at 11-11 and dropped his ERA to 2.90. He was in the middle of one of the greatest strikeout seasons in baseball history, eventually finishing 1973 with 383 strikeouts, breaking Sandy Koufax's single-season record of 382 set in 1965. Ryan also threw 26 complete games that year and pitched 326 innings for a last-place Angels team.

Ryan would throw five more no-hitters over the next 17 years, finishing with seven, more than any other pitcher. The back-to-back no-hitters in 1973 served as the announcement that a 26-year-old Texan with a wild fastball and a spotty won-loss record possessed an arm unlike anything baseball had seen before or has seen since.