The chances of a no-hitter are very slim; of some 50,000 major league games, only 86 have been no-hitters. The "perfect game"i.e., a no-hitter with no batter reaching base on a walk or errorhas not been achieved in the major leagues since 1922.* Last week Brooklyn Dodger Pitcher Carl Erskine missed the perfect game by the scant margin of a base on balls toof all peoplePitcher Willie Ramsdell, weakest hitter of the Chicago Cubs.
At the timethe third inning, with rain threateningno one thought much of Erskine's chances for a no-hitter, least of all Brooklyn's Manager Charley Dressen. With a glance at...