no-no nonsense

not since the dodgers moved to los angeles have they experienced a no-hitter drought like they are in now.  the previous longest span between dodger no-hitters was 10 years, 2 days between jerry reuss' 1980 masterpiece and fernando's 1990 gem.  in fact, the dodgers seemed to be due for one in 2000 based on their pattern.

sandy koufax threw four, one each in 1962, 63, 64 and 65.  his last no hitter was also a perfect game.

bill singer threw his no-no in 1970

jerry reuss no-hit the giants (in san francisco) in 1980

almost exactly 10 years later, fernando valenzuela no-hit the cardinals

kevin gross did it in 1992, no-hitting the giants

ramon martinez no-hit the marlins in 1995

and hideo nomo threw the first of his two no-hitters (and only one as a dodger) against the rockies in denver in 1996

i remember listening to vin scully call kevin gross' and fernando's no-hitters (as well as nolan ryan's 5th), and have listened many times to his 9th inning call of sandy koufax's perfect game.  it would be nice to hear him call one more, and with this (possibly) being his final year, the opportunities are dwindling.

i have come close to seeing a no-hitter twice.  the first time, i had a ticket to see the twins against the angels on 9/11/99. but decided not to go when the game time was moved up to accommodate a gophers football game.  eric milton wound up pitching a no-hitter that day.

then, i saw johan santana and joe nathan combine on a one-hitter in kansas city on 7/17/04.  the lone royals hit was a 2nd inning double by angel berroa, so there wasn't any no-hitter suspense.  it was only after the game that we realized how close we had come.

here's hoping that bills or kershaw or kuroda (or even padilla for that matter) get their groove on sometime this year and break the streak that has gone on too long.  do it for vinny!