Why Are There so Many No-Hitters in Baseball This Year?

The most important battle in the game of baseball centers on the pitcher¹ and the batter².

The pitcher tries to throw the ball so the batter cannot hit it. If the batter does hit the ball, defenders³ have to catch it. If the defense⁴ does not get the ball before the batter reaches first base, the result is called a "hit."

The 2021 baseball season started two months ago. So far, it has been harder than almost any year before to get a hit. The average number of hits per team in each game is less than eight. The last time there were so few hits was in 1908.

Sometimes, one team does not get any hits. And that is called a "no-hitter."

No-hitters are rare in baseball. There are usually only a few every season. But this year there have been six. The record for one year is seven. And three fourths of the season remains⁵.

There was a no-hitter on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. On May 18, a pitcher from the Detroit Tigers threw a no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners⁶. On May 19, a pitcher from the New York Yankees threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers⁷.

Many fans are asking, "Why are there so many no-hitters this year?" Baseball experts are not totally sure.

Some say it just could be luck. Others say a number of things are making it hard for hitters. For example, they say pitchers⁸ are better than ever.

Matt Chapman is a batter for the Oakland Athletics⁹. He said "the pitchers are only getting better." He said the pitchers have stronger ideas about how to stop batters¹⁰.

In other seasons, teams combined for about 20 hits in each game. This year the number is under 15. But, even in other seasons with fewer hits, no-hitters were not common.

David Bell is a former player and is now the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. One of his pitchers had a no-hitter on May 7.

"My instincts tell me the pitching is getting better," he said.

But he also said people who study the players on the other teams and create a strategy for the pitchers, are doing a better job. They are called scouts¹¹. The scouts also get detailed¹² information about the speed of hits and the flight of the ball from cameras and radar¹³ in every stadium.

The scouts help the defensive¹⁴ players decide where to stand so they can be in a good position to stop the ball if it is hit.

An Associated Press story notes that during a five-year period starting in 1988, the average number of hits in each game by each team stayed about the same, but the number of no-hitters went up and down each season.

Dusty Baker¹⁵ is the manager for the Houston Astros. He played in the 1970s and 1980s. He said batters are different than they were when he played. They are trying to hit the ball a long distance.

"Over the last few years, everybody's trying to hit homers," he said.

A home run is when the ball travels a long distance over the fence. It adds at least one to the team's score.

But it is not easy to hit a home run. Sometimes a batter will swing with less control and miss the ball completely. Miss three times, and your turn at bat is over.

The magazine Sports Illustrated¹⁶ recently suggested that, even if no-hitters are the result of "luck and randomness¹⁷," the conditions for them have never been better.

Some baseball organizations are changing the rules so that batters have a better chance. One league increased the distance between the pitcher and the batter by about 30 centimeters. As a result, the batter has a little more time to decide to swing. Another league prevents the defense from moving too many players to the side of the field where a batter's hits usually go. This makes it harder for the defense.

Chapman said better scouting¹⁸, new technology and stronger pitchers make it harder for hitters.

"I think that's kind of the way the game's trending right now," he said.

Mike Matheny is the manager of the Kansas City Royals and a former player. He is worried that what was once seen as rare will no longer create excitement and be celebrated¹⁹.

"I really hope fans don't start to think it's common."

Words in This Story

manager –n. someone who directs a team in American baseball

instinct –n. a way of behaving, thinking or feeling that is not learned

strategy –n. a careful plan or method for reaching a goal over a long period of time

stadium –n. a very large building that has a large open area and many seats for sports or other events

randomness –n. a way that does not show any order, plan or pattern

trend –n. the general direction in which something appears to be headed

1 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

2 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。

3 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 mariners   

海员，水手（mariner的复数形式）

参考例句：

• Mariners were also able to fix their latitude by using an instrument called astrolabe. 海员们还可使用星盘这种仪器确定纬度。
• The ancient mariners traversed the sea. 古代的海员漂洋过海。

7 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

8 pitchers   

大水罐( pitcher的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Over the next five years, he became one of the greatest pitchers in baseball. 在接下来的5年时间里，他成为了最了不起的棒球投手之一。
• Why he probably won't: Pitchers on also-rans can win the award. 为什麽不是他得奖：投手在失败的球队可以赢得赛扬奖。

9 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

10 batters   

n.面糊（煎料）( batter的名词复数 )；面糊（用于做糕饼）；（ 棒球） 正在击球的球员；击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pitcher has beaned as many as three batters in this game. 在这？热？投手投球竟打中了三个击手的头。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• A storm batters the ship. 一场风暴袭击了这条船。 来自辞典例句

11 scouts   

侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员

参考例句：

• to join the Scouts 参加童子军
• The scouts paired off and began to patrol the area. 巡逻人员两个一组，然后开始巡逻这个地区。

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

14 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

15 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

16 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

17 randomness   

n.随意，无安排；随机性

参考例句：

• The randomness is attributed to the porous medium. 随机性起因于多孔介质。 来自辞典例句
• Einstein declared that randomness rather than lawfulness is the characteristic of natural events. 爱因斯坦宣称自然现象的特征为不可测性而不是规律化。 来自辞典例句

18 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

19 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。