Just one day into Spring Training and we already have our first near no-hitter.
The Boston Red Sox split squad pitching staff took a no-no into the seventh and final inning Saturday … but that’s not entirely impressive because the team’s opponent was a college team. And besides, it’s Spring Training and these don’t really count.
Boston College catcher Jim Laufer broke up the no-hitter with a seventh-inning single off Randy Williams, though he was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. The Sox won 6-0.
Meanwhile, in St. Lucie, the Mets opened their Grapefruit League season with a 5-5 10-inning tie with the Atlanta Braves. Jenrry Mejia got the start for the Mets, giving up an unearned run and one hit in two innings of work while striking out three.
The 12 hits yielded by Mets’ pitchers fell fall short of zero, but even if they can squeeze out a preseason no-no, it wouldn’t be the first.
On March 21,1965, Gary Kroll and Gordy Richardson combined for a nine-inning no-hitter during a 6-0 spring training game in St. Petersburg. Glenn in Troy in a previously posted comment notes a picture on page 30 of the 1965 Mets yearbook of Richardson throwing a pitch in the ninth inning and another of Kroll and Richardson getting congratulations from the Mets front office brass the following day.
We’ll patiently wait until opening day.
