A deep dive into Cleveland Guardians’ historic no-hitter drought

Back on May 15th, 1981, Len Barker took the mound for Cleveland. When the game ended he became the fourteenth pitcher in Cleveland history to throw a no-hitter. On top of that, he became the first Cleveland pitcher to ever pitch a perfect game. 

Prior to Barker's perfect game, the longest the franchise had gone without a no-hitter was 15 years. That 15 year gap occurred after Bob Feller recorded his third no-hitter in 1951; their next no-hitter came from Sonny Siebert in 1966.

After Siebert accomplished the feat, Dick Bosman and Dennis Eckersley recorded their own no-no’s during the 1970’s. Barker then pitched his perfect game, becoming the fourth pitcher in a 15 year span, and the third in less than a decade to pitch a no-hitter for Cleveland. 

There have been 14 perfect games in Major League Baseball since Barker's perfect game along with . 118 no-hitters in the same time frame, with the most recent coming in 2024 when the Cubs tossed a combined no-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Out of the 100+ no-hitters that have occured since Barker pitched his perfect game, Cleveland pitchers have accounted for zero. However, they have been on the wrong end of seven no-hitters in that time frame (including three in 2021 alone). 

Why there have been no no-no's in Cleveland

To put the 44 year drought into perspective, there are fourteen teams who have a no-hitter in the 2020s, and every single other team has at least one no-no since the 1990s began. Toronto has the second longest drought at a measly 35 years. 

There is a combination of great pitching, great fielding, and luck that have to come together for a no-hitter. During Cleveland's 44 year drought, the Guardians have had five Cy Young award winners, six additional pitchers who finished top-three in voting and two pitchers (Bartolo Colon or Trevor Bauer) who won Cy Young’s quickly after leaving Cleveland.

Finding a reason to pinpoint the lack of no-hitters feels like an impossible task. Cleveland has been viewed as the pinnacle for pitchers for the better part of two decades, has a stadium that is not overly hitter friendly and have historically had a very good defense behind the pitchers.

Corey Kluber is a perfect player to look at as a microcosm of the drought. He had a five-year window in Cleveland that he finished top ten in Cy Young voting every year and he threw a no-hitter two years after leaving Cleveland while with the Yankees.

The level of pitching that Cleveland has produced makes it feel like this drought will end soon, but other times it feels like it may never end.

This year Gavin Williams and Slade Cecconi have both taken a no-hitter into the eighth, with Williams making it to the ninth.

The closest anyone has gotten to ending the drought was when Carlos Carrasco had one out left to get against the Rays before Joey Butler broke it up with a single.

At this point, it seems like a Guardians pitcher throwing a no-hitter is a matter of 'when', not 'if. The only question is who will break the drought, and when?