I love Tim Brown's nickname for R.A. Dickey: "Johnny Vander Near". Who pitched better, though? RAD in his back-to-back one-hitters in 2012, or old Double No-Hit himself in his consecutive no-nos? He is seen here in this wire photo after the second one, in 1938. For the debate and the poll, keep reading ...
Opponents
JVM 1st game: Boston Braves; 21-19 heading into the game. Finished 77-75 with an OPS+ of 84, which was second-worst in the eight-team league.
JVM 2nd game: Brooklyn Dodgers; 21-28 at the time. Finished 69-80 with a team OPS+ of 91 in a league where the average was 93.
RAD 1st game: Tampa Bay Rays; 35-26 at the time. Now 37-29 with a team OPS+ of 99, which is right at league average.
RAD 2nd game: Baltimore Orioles; 39-27 before game. Team OPS+ also 99.
Walks, strikeouts and having a good run
Throughout his career, Vander Meer was good for a walk every two innings. In the Braves game, he walked three and struck out four. In the Dodger game, however, he walked eight and whiffed seven.
He was in the midst of a streak in which he won eight straight starts and a streak-within-the-streak in which he allowed one run or fewer in six straight games. In those six games, which included the no-hitters, he pitched 55 innings, surrendered just 17 hits, walked 22 and struck out 35.
Dickey's second one-hitter was his sixth consecutive winning start and ninth consecutive win overall. He walked two men in the two games while K-ing 25. According to Elias, while he is the 10th pitcher since 1900 to throw consecutive one-hitters, he is the first man in Major League history with five straight starts of eight or more strikeouts without allowing an earned run. It's a streak he's now extended to six games.
Game Scores
JVM: 88 and 86
RAD: 95 and 96
Context
In the National League of 1938, the average team scored 4.42 runs per game on 9.4 hits while teams averaged 3.1 walks per nine innings and only 3.4 strikeouts.
In today's National League, teams are averaging 4.17 runs per game on 8.7 hits with 3.2 walks and 7.7 strikeouts.
Poll
Who pitched better, R.A. Dickey in his consecutive one-hitters or Johnny Vander Meer in his consecutive no-hitters?
Dickey, of course. No-hitters are mostly about luck. (52 votes)
Vander Meer. A unique achievement. (22 votes)
Too close to call. (1 vote)
Comparisons across the chasm of seven decades are folly. (39 votes)
114 total votes
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