Birdland Playback: John Means Makes History

After a strong finish to his 2020 campaign, John Means wasted no time solidifying his reputation as a bona fide staff ace to begin the 2021 season. In his first career Opening Day start on April 2 at Fenway Park, he recorded arguably the greatest season-opening performance in franchise history, tossing seven scoreless innings while allowing just one hit and striking out five. He became only the 17th pitcher in Major League history – and first Oriole – to throw at least seven innings while allowing one or zero hits in an Opening Day start.

Despite his extraordinary Opening Day dominance, the defining performance of Means’ season came just over a month later in Seattle, when he achieved one of the rarest feats in baseball during a brush with perfection. In this week’s Birdland Playback, Means revisits the historic day when he threw a near-perfect no-hitter against the Mariners.

Before May 5, the last Orioles no-hitter had been a combined effort by Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson and Gregg Olson on July 13, 1991, against the Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, a year before Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened and two years before a boy named John Means was born in Olathe, Kan., to Jill and Alan Means. The last individual no-hitter by an Orioles hurler had taken place more than 50 years ago, when Orioles legend and Hall of Famer Jim Palmer no-hit the A’s at Memorial Stadium in 1969.

The circumstances of the game on May 5 did not exactly set the stage for the drama that ensued. It was an unassuming getaway game to cap off a six-game West Coast road trip that began in Oakland. With first pitch scheduled for 3:40 p.m. ET/12:40 p.m. PT, the game wouldn’t have the added excitement of being played under the lights during primetime. Leading up to the series finale matinee, not even Means himself could have predicted what happened next.

“I honestly didn’t feel very good before the game,” he said. “I remember sitting in the bullpen, I got out there a little earlier than I usually do. I was sitting in the bullpen, kind of looking out, head kind of down between my knees. I kind of felt like I was going to throw up.”

However, once the lefty took the mound, it was clear that the Orioles were getting the very best version of their ace that day.

“It was obvious from the beginning of the game that he had great fastball command, and his changeup was really good,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Major League field coordinator and catching instructor Tim Cossins praised Means’ swift pace and his harmony with catcher Pedro Severino as the game got underway.

The southpaw carved through the first seven Mariners batters with ease before punching out Sam Haggerty on a curveball with one out in the third; however, the sharp breaking ball bounced in front of Severino and darted towards the red brick backstop, allowing Haggerty to take first base on a dropped third strike. Severino would quickly erase the baserunner with a caught-stealing.

As the game progressed, the Mariners were quickly running out of outs to try to break up the no-hit bit. Despite some close calls, their efforts were dashed by Baltimore’s late-inning outfield heroics: a sliding catch by center fielder Cedric Mullins to rob J.P. Crawford in the sixth inning and a hard-hit ball by Kyle Lewis caught on the warning track by left fielder Austin Hays in the eighth helped preserve the no-no, with Means exhaling after each game-changing play.

Across the country and in homes throughout Birdland, fans began to tune in as they realized Means had a chance to make history. Tension in the ballpark and in the dugout was rising. Baseball superstitions kicked in, with Means’ own teammates avoiding him so as not to jinx the no-hit bid. Trey Mancini began to pace between his at-bats. Hyde’s stomach was in knots. Right-hander Dillon Tate began to get loose in the bullpen -- just in case -- but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be needed; John Means would get it done.

Means jogged out to the mound in the ninth inning and induced a foul popout to third baseman Rio Ruiz for out number one. Two to go. Next, he struck out Haggerty for his 12th strikeout, tying his career high. The Mariners were down to their final out.

Crawford was the batter, 0-for-2 at that point in the game, but he would have broken up the no-no in the sixth were it not for the glove and range of Mullins. On the first pitch of the at-bat, he sliced a soft line drive to the left side of the infield. The ball shot out of the frame of the center-field camera, leaving a split second of doubt as to what would happen. Means turned to his glove side, following the ball as it cut through the air and floated into the glove of shortstop Ramón Urías. He had done it.

The celebration erupted on the field as teammates rushed to the mound, surrounding Means and jumping up and down around the man who had just snapped the longest active drought by a team without an individual no-hitter among current franchises.

Means had done more than just throw a no-hitter. He had become the first pitcher in Major League history to throw a non-perfect no-hitter in which the opposing team did not record a walk, get hit by a pitch or reach on an error. He faced the minimum 27 batters, perfectly imperfect, while striking out a dozen, becoming only the eighth MLB pitcher (since 1901) with a nine-inning complete game allowing no hits or walks and striking out at least 12 batters in a start.

“It’s special. It’s pretty crazy. I hope it lets every kid coming up know that anybody can do it,” he said in his postgame press conference, still processing what had just happened. “I was on my way out in the minor leagues and figured out a way to make a living out of this. Hopefully kids coming up, even the ones overlooked, know they have a chance.”