The No-Hitter and Its Merits

There's plenty of chatter after Sunday's 7-inning no-hitter thrown by Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants, and if the feat should hold in the record books since it was just a seven inning game. It's a debate that it sounds like is not going to end anytime soon.

In baseball, a no-hitter has always been when a pitcher goes the entire game without giving up any hits. 

It’s in the name, after all, “no-hitter.” However, recent controversy has sparked after a no-hitter was thrown in a different sense.

Last year, Major League Baseball changed the rules for its doubleheader games. Each game now consists of seven innings (unless the game is tied) instead of the usual nine that everyone is accustomed to throughout the years of being fans of the game.

On Sunday, Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Madison Bumgarner threw a no-hitter in a 7-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the second game of a double-header. Thus, there were only seven innings of baseball played.

Now, by definition, Bumgarner gave up “no hits” throughout the duration of the game. Even so, it wasn’t a nine inning game and that has a lot of fans questioning the merits of this outing.

Major League Baseball is not counting it in the record books or stat sheets like the rest of these amazing feats.

On the flip side, one could argue that Bumgarner had no opportunity to pitch those final two innings because of the rule change that removed them. 

That makes it impossible for any pitcher to ever throw a perfect game or no hitter in any game that is a part of a double header and only seven innings each.

The goal of this rule change is to allow a double header to be completed in less time. Frankly, it appears to be causing more problems than helping with the games themselves.

If the games remain seven innings, there will always be this problem.

On one side, if Major League Baseball does decide to count all seven inning no hitters, there will always be an asterisk beside the achievement because it wasn’t the entire nine innings. 

If it remains how it is, the pitcher will never have the true opportunity to accomplish something great.

The last no hitter thrown for the Cleveland Indians came back on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays. 

It was Len Barker on the hill. The Indians have thrown 14 total no hitters in team history and have been thrown against 11 times.

The simple solution to all of this is keeping baseball games nine innings no matter what the situation. 

Shortening the games by two innings really doesn’t change much besides ending the day of baseball a bit earlier.

Madison, the best way to silence everyone is in the next nine inning outing of yours, throw another no hitter.