Ten no-hitters span 50 years for Angels
Santana, Weaver separated by 280 days; Ryan threw four
This time around, Jered Weaver kept the waiting to a minimum.
Almost 50 years after Bo Belinsky threw the first no-hitter in franchise history but only 280 days after Santana's no-no, the 29-year-old Weaver tossed the 10th no-hitter in Angels history Wednesday night, a 9-0 win against the Twins.
Nearly half the list belongs to Nolan Ryan, who threw four in an Angels uniform, and Witt was involved in two of them. There had only been three Angels no-hitters since Weaver was born on Oct. 4, 1982, and he was in the dugout for one of them.
The Angels' no-hit history begins back in 1962, when Belinsky tossed the first no-hitter in Los Angeles Major League history, the first on the West Coast, by beating the Baltimore Orioles on May 5. The Angels won, 2-0, behind the rookie left-hander's effort.
It was the high point of Belinsky's ultimately disappointing career on the field, and afterward he reportedly said, "If music be the food of love, by all means let the band play on."
Fifty years later, Weaver offered up the following: "I'm at a loss for words right now. It hasn't even kicked in yet. It was awesome."
Eight years after Belinsky, there was Clyde Wright, who blanked the Oakland Athletics on July 3, 1970, in a 4-0 victory.
Then, Ryan's run began. Of his seven career no-hitters, four came with the Angels between 1973 and 1975.
Ryan's first no-hitter was May 15, 1973, when he beat the Kansas City Royals, 3-0, and became the first right-hander in franchise history to twirl a no-no.
Exactly two months after that, Ryan did it again, this time in a 6-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers -- it was the largest margin of victory in an Angels no-hitter until Weaver and the 2012 club won, 9-0, on Wednesday; it's still the shortest interval between no-hitters in franchise history.
Ryan's second gem made the '73 Angels the most recent team to record two no-hitters during the same regular season. He went on to pitch seven no-hit innings in his next start, the closest anyone had come to matching Johnny Vander Meer's famous feat of throwing back-to-back no-hitters since Ewell Blackwell in 1947 took a no-hitter against the Brooklyn Dodgers into the ninth after no-hitting the Boston Braves in his previous start.
Fast-forward to Sept. 28, 1974, and Ryan did it again, tossing the first Angels no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins despite having eight players reach safely, the most allowed in an Angels no-hitter.
In his final no-hitter as an Angel, Ryan put together a 1-0 no-no on June 1, 1975, against the Orioles.
The Angels' next two no-hitters would be 1-0 decisions as well, and Witt would wind up involved in both.
The first came on Sept. 30, 1984, the final game of the season, and Witt spun the first and only perfect game in Angels history, beating the Rangers on the road. Reggie Jackson drove in the only run of the game on a seventh-inning fielder's-choice grounder, but that was all Witt needed.
Six seasons later, on April 11, 1990, Witt came out of the bullpen and threw two hitless innings, following up Langston's seven spotless frames against the Seattle Mariners.
That was the only combined no-no in Angels history, but Weaver was nearly involved in another on June 28, 2008, when he and Jose Arredondo combined to no-hit the Dodgers over eight innings. But the Halos lost, 1-0, and couldn't extend their no-hitter into the ninth because they were the visiting team. Therefore, it was not officially a no-hitter.
So, the Angels waited. Then, they waited some more.
Finally, last year, Santana took the mound at Progressive Field and ended the wait. He tossed the first no-hitter in the field's history, recording his first win against the Indians and becoming the first Angel to allow a run in a no-hitter.
"Everybody dreams about it," Santana said at the time. "I've never done it. It's a dream come true. I have to enjoy it."
And the Angels will enjoy Weaver's, too. Even if they didn't have to wait all that long for it.