Volquez Makes History: Ranking The Miami Marlins No-Hitters

No-No No. 6: Burnett Blanks Padres 5/12/01

This one is easily the weirdest and worst no-hitter in Miami Marlins history.

The club had dropped four of their past five, starting with a 1-0 loss to the Dodgers that was the result of a Kevin Brown gem, and a lone Gary Sheffield home run. Funnily enough, A.J. Burnett took the loss in that one. So needless to say, I was in a bit of a mood that week. When Saturday night rolled around, I was looking to do something else. In fact, I’m pretty sure I had plans with some friends. But I do remember that my dad was channel surfing, and I asked him to check the score of the game. I can remember watching a third inning that had two walks and a wild pitch, only to hear the announcer say there were still no hits allowed. That was odd enough to flip back to in the fourth. And the fifth.

I’d apologize at this point to whichever friends I promptly bailed on at that point, but the rest was history. Really, if anyone deserves an apology, it’s the Padres. They still don’t have a no-hitter to call their own- the only team in baseball without one.

Burnett did record seven strikeouts, tying him for the second best K peformance in a Marlins no-no. However, he also posted a staggering nine walks, and needed 129 pitches to record the final out. Both are highs by a mile for a Miami no-hitter. He also hit a batter and uncorked a wild pitch. Greg Maddux level finesse this was not…but then again, Maddux never threw a no-hitter.

Burnett was the definition of effectively wild in this one, and it’s up there for most fun I’ve ever had watching a baseball game on television. It was even close, with the Fish only winning 3-0. The pressure of the walks though made it feel like the lead could slip anyway at any time. However, the club was below .500 and the Padres were not exactly elite competition.

Fun yes, but high caliber pitching? Not so much.