In baseball, a no-hitter (also known as a no-hit game and colloquially as a no-no) is a game in which a team was not able to record a single hit. Major League Baseball officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter". This is a rare accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff: only 276 have been thrown in Major League Baseball history since 1875, an average of about two per year. In most cases in MLB, no-hitters are recorded by a single pitcher who throws a complete game. The last no-hitter was thrown on June 1, 2012, by the New York Mets, the first no-hitter in franchise history.

Most of the time, a no-hitter is also a shutout. However, as it is possible to reach base without a hit (most commonly via a walk, error, or hit batsman), a pitcher can throw a no-hitter and still give up runs, and even lose the game, although this is extremely uncommon. In 25 of the 276 recorded no-hitters in MLB history, one or more runs were given up, most recently by Ervin Santana of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in a 3-1 win against Cleveland Indians on July 27, 2011. On two occasions, a team has thrown a nine-inning no-hitter and still lost the game. On a further four occasions, a team has thrown a no-hitter for eight innings in a losing effort, but those four games are not officially recognized as no-hitters by Major League Baseball because the outing lasted fewer than nine innings.

Justin Brooks Verlander (born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.

In 2006, he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. On June 12, 2007, he pitched a no-hitter—the first ever at Comerica Park—against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 batters and walking four. He pitched a second no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 7, 2011, in Toronto, walking one and facing the minimum 27 batters. On November 15, 2011, Verlander was named the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner by a unanimous vote, becoming the first American League pitcher since Johan Santana in 2006 to win the award in such a fashion. On November 21, 2011, Verlander was voted the AL MVP, winning with 280 points over Jacoby Ellsbury's 242, completing a sweep of the Cy Young Award and MVP, a rare feat for a pitcher in the modern era.

His father Richard, who was president of the local Richmond, Virginia chapter of the Communications Workers of America, sent Justin to The Richmond Baseball Academy. Justin clocked 84 mph (135 km/h) shortly after joining the academy. His velocity kept climbing, and hit 86 MPH by the time he entered Goochland High School. He had been a top pitching prospect in high school, but his career suffered a setback when he came down with strep throat early in his senior season of baseball. A weakened Verlander topped out at 81 during that season, causing professional scouts to lose interest. After he recovered, his velocity reached 87 during his first year at Old Dominion.

Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. (born on January 31, 1947), nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers.

During a major league record 27-year baseball career, he pitched in 1966 and from 1968 to 1993 for four different teams: the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Ryan, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher, threw pitches that were regularly recorded above 100 miles per hour (160.93 km/h). The high velocity remained throughout his career, even into his 40s. Ryan was also known to throw a devastating 12–6 curveball at exceptional velocity for a breaking ball.

While his lifetime winning percentage was a relatively pedestrian .526, Ryan was an eight-time MLB All-Star, and his 5,714 career strikeouts rank first in baseball history by a significant margin. He leads the runner-up, Randy Johnson, by 839 strikeouts. Similarly, Ryan's 2,795 bases on balls lead second-place Steve Carlton by 962—walking over 50% more hitters than any other pitcher in Major League history. Other than Jackie Robinson (whose number was retired by the entire MLB), Ryan is currently the only major league baseball player to have his number retired by at least 3 different teams: the Angels, Astros, and Rangers.

Johan Alexander Santana Araque (English pronunciation: /ˈjoʊhɑːn sænˈtænə/; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan pitcher for New York Mets. He is a native of Tovar, a town in Merida state, Venezuela.

A two-time Cy Young Award winner with the Minnesota Twins, he was considered one of the best pitchers in baseball, with a pitch repertoire that included an 88–94 mph fastball, along with a circle changeup, generally considered his best pitch, and a slider. His warm-up music is the song "Smooth" by Rob Thomas and Carlos Santana. Santana was rated by Forbes as the 5th highest paid baseball player in MLB, the highest out of all pitchers. On June 1st, 2012, Santana threw the first no-hitter in New York Mets' history.

Santana was discovered in 1994 by Chance Partin, brother-in-law of Cheech Marin, who was a scout working for the Houston Astros at the time. He signed Santana and sent him to his academy in Guacara in January 1995. Santana did not like it and almost left, but Reiner convinced him to stay. While originally a center fielder, Santana was converted to a pitcher at the academy due to his arm speed. In 1999 he was named the Tovar Mérida Athlete of the Year.

Dock Phillip Ellis, Jr. (March 11, 1945 – December 19, 2008) was a professional baseball player who pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, among other teams in Major League Baseball. His best season was 1971, when he won 19 games for the World Series champion Pirates and was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game. However, he is perhaps best remembered for throwing a no-hitter in 1970 and later stating that he had done it while under the influence of LSD.

Dock Ellis is best known for several incidents during his career:

Ellis beaned Reggie Jackson in the face, in apparent retaliation for Reggie's monstrous home run off of him in the 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit.

Ellis pitched a no-hitter against the San Diego Padres on June 12, 1970. He would admit in 1984 to being under the influence of LSD throughout the course of the game. Ellis had taken the drug under the impression that he had the day off. Ellis boarded a shuttle flight to the ballpark and threw a no-hitter, despite not being able to feel the ball or see the batter or catcher clearly. Ellis said that catcher Jerry May wore reflective tape on his fingers, which helped Ellis to see his signals. Ellis walked eight batters and struck out six, and was aided by excellent fielding plays by second baseman Bill Mazeroski and center fielder Matty Alou. Because the no-hitter was the first game of a double header, Ellis was forced to keep track of the pitch count for the night game.