You’ve seen the highlight reels. A pitcher falls into his teammates' arms, the catcher leaps like he’s just won the lottery, and the scoreboard shows a big, fat zero in the "H" column. It's the no-hitter. Pure magic. Honestly, it’s one of the few things left in baseball that can make a random Tuesday night in May feel like Game 7 of the World Series.
But here’s the thing about the list of mlb no hitters—it’s getting weirder. We went through the entire 2025 season without a single one. Not one. It was the first "no no-no" year since 2005. Before that drought, we were practically tripping over them. In 2021, pitchers threw nine. Nine! It felt like if you could throw 98 mph and a decent slider, you were guaranteed a date with history.
Now? We’re back to realizing just how hard this actually is.
The Mount Rushmore of the List of MLB No Hitters
If we’re talking about the absolute kings of this stat, you have to start with Nolan Ryan. The guy was a freak of nature. He threw seven no-hitters. To put that in perspective, Sandy Koufax is in second place with four. Ryan threw his first one in 1973 and his last one in 1991. He was 44 years old for the last one. Most guys his age are worried about their lawn; he was busy making professional hitters look like they were swinging garden hoses.
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Then you have the "perfect" ones. Every perfect game is a no-hitter, but not every no-hitter is perfect. A perfect game means 27 up, 27 down. No walks. No errors. No "oops, I hit the guy in the ribs." There have only been 24 of these in the history of the sport. The most recent? Domingo Germán for the Yankees back in 2023 against the A's.
It’s a tiny club. Basically, more people have been to outer space than have thrown a perfect game in the big leagues.
The Guys Who Did It Twice (or Thrice)
It’s not just Ryan and Koufax. A few other names belong on the high-rent district of the list of mlb no hitters:
- Justin Verlander: He’s got three. He’s probably the last of the true "workhorse" aces we’ll see for a while.
- Bob Feller: Also three. He threw one on Opening Day in 1940, which is just showing off.
- Cy Young: The man the award is named after had three. No surprise there.
- Max Scherzer: He threw two in the same season (2015). One of them was nearly a perfect game until he hit a batter with two outs in the ninth. Talk about a heartbreaker.
Why 2025 Was So Quiet
So, why did the list of mlb no hitters stop growing in 2025? It’s not like pitchers suddenly got worse. If anything, they’re throwing harder than ever. But the way the game is played has shifted.
Managers are terrified of the "third time through the order" penalty. If a guy is cruising through six innings with no hits, he’s already at 85 pitches. In the old days, you’d let him ride until his arm fell off. Now? You pull him for a fireballing lefty from the pen. This leads to "combined no-hitters," which are technically no-hitters but sort of feel like a group project where one person did all the work and everyone else got an A.
The last one we saw before the 2025 drought was a combined effort. Shota Imanaga and two relievers for the Cubs shut down the Pirates in September 2024. It counts, but it doesn't hit the same as a solo masterpiece.
The Weird, The Wild, and The LSD
You can't talk about the list of mlb no hitters without mentioning Dock Ellis. It’s the stuff of legend. In 1970, Ellis claimed he threw a no-hitter for the Pirates while high on LSD. He said the ball was changing sizes and he thought Richard Nixon was the umpire. He walked eight guys and hit at least one, but somehow, the Padres couldn't get a hit. It’s the most "70s" thing to ever happen in sports.
Then there’s Jim Abbott. He was born without a right hand. In 1993, he threw a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Indians. Think about the coordination required to pitch, then move your glove to your left hand to field, then throw. It’s one of the most inspiring moments in baseball history, period.
Teams That Love (and Hate) No-Hitters
Some franchises are just "no-hit magnets."
- The Dodgers: They lead the pack with 26. Being in LA with guys like Koufax and Kershaw helps.
- The White Sox: They’ve got 20.
- The Padres: For the longest time, they were the punchline. They went over 50 years without one until Joe Musgrove finally broke the curse in 2021.
- The Mets: Another "cursed" team for a while. Johan Santana finally gave them their first in 2012, though a foul ball that was called fair might have helped him out a bit.
What it Takes to Actually Rank on This List
Honestly, luck is a huge factor. You need a diving catch from your shortstop in the 4th inning. You need a blooper to hang in the air just a split-second longer so your outfielder can snag it. You need an umpire with a generous strike zone.
But mostly, you need "stuff." You need a pitch that the other team simply can't handle that day.
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For Johnny Vander Meer in 1938, he had it twice in a row. He’s the only guy to ever throw back-to-back no-hitters. That record is basically unbreakable. Imagine throwing a no-hitter, celebrating, then going out five days later and doing it again. It’s ridiculous.
The Future of the No-No
As we move through 2026, keep an eye on the pitch counts. The "Pure" no-hitter is becoming an endangered species. We’re seeing more and more games where a guy is pulled after seven innings of no-hit ball because the "analytics" say it’s the right move.
It’s smart, but it’s kind of a bummer for the fans. We want to see the struggle. We want to see the pitcher sweating in the 9th, trying to find that last bit of gas in the tank.
If you’re looking to track the next entry on the list of mlb no hitters, watch the young flamethrowers who have "low-contact" profiles. Guys who strike out 12 and walk 4 are more likely to bungle into a no-hitter than a command artist who lets the defense do the work. One bad hop and the dream is over for a contact pitcher.
Actionable Next Steps:
Check the official MLB probables list for the upcoming week. Look for "high K/9" starters facing teams with high strikeout rates (like the Rockies or the A's lately). Those are your best bets for catching history live. Also, keep an eye on "no-hit alerts" on your phone; if a game is hitless through six, drop everything and tune in. The 2025 drought means we are statistically "due" for a flurry of them in 2026.