Today is Opening Day for the baseball season. My favorites and my home town team, the Cincinnati Reds, have always been the team to open the season by playing the first game of the season. In past years other teams have tried to sneak in the day before or even a few hours of minutes before to claim that they played the opening game that year. Those teams need to get back to the real world. No matter what the baseball season doesn’t start till the Cincinnati Reds play their first game. It is a long standing tradition. Today I want to tell you about an old Cincinnati Reds pitcher. His name was Johnny Vander Meer. Vander Meer was from Midland Park, New Jersey. Most people there were Brooklyn Dodger fans. On June 15, 1938 some of them for a brief time became Cincinnati Reds fans. Five days earlier Vander Meer had beaten Boston, then known as the Boston Bees 3-0. He was a rookie and pitched a no-hitter. His second game was against the Brooklyn Dodgers. History was about to be made. A crowd of over 500 people were there that night and it included Johnny’s parents. The game was going well for Vander Meer and by the fourth inning the Reds were leading 4-0. By the 6th inning no Dodger had gotten farther then 2nd Base. Even faithful Dodger fans were starting to root for the Reds and the rookie pitcher as he was on the verge of pitching a second no-hitter in a row. That would be a feat that no one had ever done up to that time. During the 7th inning he walked the first two batters and the fans switched back to the Dodgers. Johnny worked his way out of the situation.
In the 8th inning he struck out Woody English. The second batter grounded out. Then the third batter was struck out. When the 9th inning of the game came and Johnny walked out to the mound the crowd gave him an ovation. Vander Meer and the crowd was starting to feel the tension. Every pitch created a sense of excitement in the air. The first batter hit the ball up the first base line. Johnny fielded it himself and tagged the runner out. Babe Phelps the catcher was up at bat. A record was on the line and the young Cincinnati pitcher walked him but Phelps was a slow runner and was taken out for a pinch runner. Despite his best efforts Vander Meer could not get the ball over the plate and walked the next two batters. Now the bases were loaded. The fans were on the edge of their seats and despite the late hour all the fans stayed to see if history would be made as they hoped. Everyone hoped except the Dodgers themselves. Dodger center fielder Ernie Koy hit a grounder up the 3rd base line. It could have been a double play to end the game but the 3rd baseman was cautious and threw slowly to home plate to get the out but by that time Koy was on first base.
Shortstop Leo Durocher he was considered a weak hitter but would come through under pressure. The crowd leapt to its feet when he hit the first pitch like a shot down the first base line. However, it curved foul and went into the stands.
Durocher stepped back to the plate. Johnny let loose with a fast ball and Durocher hit it to center field. Reds outfielder Harry Craft was there and caught the ball to end the game. Vander Meer had put the Dodgers away with a score of 6-0. When he completed this incredible feat he earned a nickname as Johnny “Double No-Hit.”
In the 8th inning he struck out Woody English. The second batter grounded out. Then the third batter was struck out. When the 9th inning of the game came and Johnny walked out to the mound the crowd gave him an ovation. Vander Meer and the crowd was starting to feel the tension. Every pitch created a sense of excitement in the air. The first batter hit the ball up the first base line. Johnny fielded it himself and tagged the runner out. Babe Phelps the catcher was up at bat. A record was on the line and the young Cincinnati pitcher walked him but Phelps was a slow runner and was taken out for a pinch runner. Despite his best efforts Vander Meer could not get the ball over the plate and walked the next two batters. Now the bases were loaded. The fans were on the edge of their seats and despite the late hour all the fans stayed to see if history would be made as they hoped. Everyone hoped except the Dodgers themselves. Dodger center fielder Ernie Koy hit a grounder up the 3rd base line. It could have been a double play to end the game but the 3rd baseman was cautious and threw slowly to home plate to get the out but by that time Koy was on first base.
Shortstop Leo Durocher he was considered a weak hitter but would come through under pressure. The crowd leapt to its feet when he hit the first pitch like a shot down the first base line. However, it curved foul and went into the stands.
Durocher stepped back to the plate. Johnny let loose with a fast ball and Durocher hit it to center field. Reds outfielder Harry Craft was there and caught the ball to end the game. Vander Meer had put the Dodgers away with a score of 6-0. When he completed this incredible feat he earned a nickname as Johnny “Double No-Hit.”
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