Ken Johnson Passes

Former major league pitcher Ken Johnson died at age 82 on Saturday. He is remembered for an odd record:

On April 23, 1964, in his third start of the season, Johnson took the mound for the Houston Colt .45’s against one of his former teams, the Cincinnati Reds. He was nearly flawless that day, but not entirely. With one out in the top of the ninth, the game scoreless and the Reds yet to get a hit, Johnson fielded a bunt by Pete Rose but threw the ball away, allowing Rose to reach second base. A groundout moved Rose to third and with two outs, an error by second baseman Nellie Fox allowed Rose to score.

Johnson got the final out and, after the Colt .45’s failed to score in the bottom of the inning, became the first pitcher in MLB history to lose despite throwing a complete-game, nine-inning no-hitter. He remains the only pitcher to ever do it.

My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Here is the box score, both starters pitching very well.

Johnson showed outstanding control during his career, walking just 2.1 batters per nine innings pitched. In terms of winning, he was a late bloomer. His three best seasons came from 1965 to 1967, seasonal ages 32-34. He posted a 43-27 record with the Astros and the Braves. His ERA in that span was 3.16, and he walked just 1.8 batters per nine innings. He pitched better than his record, accumlating 20.4 rWAR in his career. He was much more than the man who lost a complete game no-hitter.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1PWPUKC