No-hitters have never been easy in real life or any type of simulation.
After years of playing Strat-O-Matic, a baseball simulation game that began as a cards and dice game in the early 1960s, there is finally a no-hitter in my scorebook.
During my time with this game, I’ve recorded 10 one-hitters. Two of them were actually in one game featuring the 1981 Houston Astros with Nolan Ryan and 1981 Baltimore Orioles with Dennis Martinez. Read more here.
Ryan was perfect through six innings before giving up a hit, while Martinez surrendered a homer in the first.
The worst game for me involved the 1970 Cincinnati Reds and Wayne Simpson. Simpson had one out to go when he gave up a triple to Zoilo Versailles of the 1965 Minnesota Twins. Read more here.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was as close as I had ever been to a no-hitter.
Now thanks to the 1957 Milwaukee Braves version of Warren Spahn, I have my no-hitter. Amazingly, it turned out to be a perfect game as he blanked the 2014 Kansas City Royals. The game was part of a round-robin tournament that clinched the title for the Braves. Adding to the difficultly, since the game was in Kansas City, gulp, the designated hitter was used.
Rolling the dice with Spahn was unbelievable. The (basic) defense charts were never used and there were only two split rolls needing the 20-sided die. Neither one of those turned out to be a big deal. For those readers unfamiliar with the game, using the 20-sided die basically brings defense into play. However, there are also cases when a player could hit a home run with a roll of 1-2 or make an out if a 3-20 is rolled.
One could say that Spahn was dominant. After the fourth inning, I began to wonder if it was possible. By the ninth, baseball’s all-time best left-hander finished with three easy rolls. He ended with just four strikeouts, but he never seemed to be challenged.
There was no jumping around, or yelling. In fact, I didn’t tell anyone for two days. It just didn’t seem real.
Besides Spahn, Wes Covington had a pretty good day as he supplied most of the offense with a pair of two-run homers. Del Crandall knocked in the other run in the 5-0 decision. Bill Bruton had four hits, but ironically never scored.
In Real Life
The 1957 season was among the best years in the Spahn’s career. He helped the Braves to their only World Series victory in Milwaukee. He won the Cy Young Award with a 21-11 record with a 2.69 ERA.
Although, Spahn never threw a perfect game, he did toss two no-hitters.
The first one came at home against the Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 16, 1960. Spahn struck out 15 and walked two in the 4-0 victory as he earned his 20th win of that season.
Bruton, Crandall and Eddie Mathews each had two hits in the contest.
At the start of the 1961 season, the Braves beat the San Francisco Giants 1-0 on April 28. Spahn held the Giants hitless with five strikeouts and a pair of walks.
Frank Bolling led the Braves with two hits and Hank Aaron produced the only run with a single.
Spahn was 363-245 during his 21-year career in the majors from 1942 to 1965. He led the National League in wins eight times, strikeouts four times and ERA on three occasions. He also missed three seasons early in his career by enlisting in the military from 1943 to 1945. His service has been well documented as he received a Purple Heart and was in the Battle of the Bulge.
A 17-time all-star, he pitched for the Braves in Boston and Milwaukee in 1942 and from 1946 to 1964. The Braves won the NL pennant in 1948 and 1958 with Spahn being a fixture in the starting rotation. The 1965 season was his last as he split time with the New York Mets and the Giants.
After winning over 20-games in a season 13 times, Spahn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
Getting the Call
Covington played 11 seasons in the big leagues from 1956 to 1966. He finished with 131 home runs and 499 RBI in 1,075 games.
In 1957, Covington was called up to the majors and helped the Braves to the title with 21 homers and 65 RBI. He had a pair of his eight two-homer games in 1957.
The following season when the Braves lost to the Yankees in the World Series, Covington contributed career-high totals of 24 homers, 74 RBI and a .330 batting average.
Early in the 1961 season, the Braves placed Covington on waivers. He was picked up by the Chicago White Sox and then eventually traded to the Kansas City A’s. He finished the season with the Phillies after being included in another swap.
From 1962 to 1965, Covington had some success with the Phillies hitting 61 homers during his time in Philadelphia. In his last year, Covington played for the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.