Last no-hitter in World Series

One of the most difficult feats in baseball is to throw a no-hitter. Has anyone ever done it on the biggest stage in the World Series?

In a 2021 season full of early no-hitters, it would be fitting if a pitcher managed to serve up that kind of domination in the postseason, particularly the World Series.

Has it ever been done in MLB history?

How many no-hitters in World Series history?

Don Larsen pitched the first postseason no-hitter ever in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series for the Yankees. Not only that, it was a Perfect Game on short rest. That feat has never been matched in the playoffs or World Series since.

In fact, there has only ever been one other postseason no-hitter. Roy Halladay completed that one in the NLDS for the Phillies.

In Game 3 of the 2021 World Series, Ian Anderson was through five hitless before he was pulled by manager Brian Snitker, rather than allowed to go through the lineup for a third time. He was replaced by relief pitcher A.J. Minter. It was a bold move by the Braves, but one fueled by analytics and modern-day pitching.

It begs the question, however: Will any pitcher come close to Larsen’s heroics again? 1956 was a long time ago, and a different era of pitching.

While bullpen arms are a great weapon to have, to so willingly pull a pitcher who was, at the time, absolutely dealing is a mistake waiting to happen. Should playoff baseball be managed so differently than the regular season?

David O’Brien of The Athletic explained Snitker’s decision making in Game 3 with one quote: “Snit is the one who said before game he’s only thinking about winning today, not about tomorrow. So with two bullpen games coming up next two games, it makes no sense to me to pull him with no hits allowed and only 76 pitches.”