The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

are a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

based in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. They play in the

American League East The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

division, and were previously known in earlier years as the “Milwaukee Brewers” (1901) and “St. Louis Browns” (1902 to 1953) pitchers for the Orioles have thrown ten no-hitters in franchise history. A no-hitter is officially recognized by Major League Baseball only "when a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

(or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings", though one or more

batters Batter or batters may refer to: Common meanings * Batter (cooking), thin dough that can be easily poured into a pan * Batter (baseball), person whose turn it is to face the pitcher * Batter (cricket), a player who is currently batting * Batter ...

"may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher's interference". No-hitters of less than nine complete innings were previously recognized by the league as official; however, several rule alterations in 1991 changed the rule to its current form. No

perfect games Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

, a special subcategory of no-hitter, have been thrown in Orioles history. As defined by Major League Baseball, "in a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game." Earl Hamilton threw the first no-hitter in Orioles history on August 30, 1912; the most recent no-hitter was thrown by John Means on May 5, 2021. No-hitters have been thrown by five left-handed starting pitchers and five right-handers. Seven no-hitters were thrown at home and three on the road. There have been two no-hitters in April, four in May, one in July, two in August, and one in September. The longest interval between no-hitters was 36 years from May 6, 1917 (

Bob Groom Robert Groom (September 12, 1884 – February 19, 1948), was a professional baseball player who played as a pitcher in two midwest minor leagues and the Pacific Coast League from 1904 to 1908, and then in the Major Leagues from 1909 to 1918. He ...

) to May 6, 1953 ( Bobo Holloman). The shortest interval was one day, May 5, 1917 (

Ernie Koob Ernest Gerald Koob (September 11, 1892 – November 12, 1941), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1915 to 1919 for the St. Louis Browns. On May 5, 1917, Koob no-hit the eventual World Champion Chicago ...

) to May 6, 1917 (Groom). The franchise no-hit the Oakland Athletics (formerly “Philadelphia Athletics”) the most, three times, by Holloman in 1953,

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

in 1969, and a combined no-hitter by Milacki, Flanagan, Williamson, and Olson in 1991. In two no-hitters, the team allowed at least one run: by Hamilton in 1912 (which was a loss) and a combined no-hitter by Steve Barber and Stu Miller in 1967. The most baserunners allowed in a no-hitter was a combined no-no by Barber and Miller, who allowed 14 in a 2–1 loss to the Detroit Tigers in 1967. Of the ten no-hitters, two have been won by a score of 1–0 and two by a score of 6–0, more common than any other result. The largest margin of victory was an 8–0 win by Palmer in 1969. The smallest margin of victory was a 1–0 wins by Koob in 1917 and

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

in 1958. The

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

is an integral part of any no-hitter. The umpire makes any decision “which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out… he umpire’s judgment on such mattersis final." Part of the duties of the umpire making calls at home plate includes defining the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...

, which "is defined as that area over homeplate ''(sic)'' the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap.” These calls define every baseball game and are therefore integral to the completion of any no-hitter. Eight different umpires presided over each of the franchise’s ten no-hitters. The

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

is another integral part of a no-hitter. For every game, the manager determines the starting rotation (who pitches in each game) as well as the batting order and defensive lineup. A manager’s decisions can contribute to a no-hitter. Eight different managers have overseen the franchise’s ten no-hitters.

List of no-hitters in Browns/Orioles history

References

{{Baltimore Orioles

No-hitters In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...