ANAHEIM -- Only twice in the history of the Major Leagues have two no-hitters been thrown on the same day. The first instance occurred May 2, 1917, when Reds right-hander Fred Toney and Cubs left-hander Hippo Vaughn accomplished the feat. The other day involved A's righty Dave Stewart and Dodgers southpaw Fernando Valenzuela, who hurled no-hitters 27 years ago Thursday.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who spent the entirety of his 13-year playing career with the Dodgers, was Valenzuela's batterymate on the fateful night -- June 29, 1990.
The Halos skipper told reporters Thursday how Valenzuela had predicted his fortune prior to spinning the masterpiece.
"We're going out there and we're starting to go out there to stretch pregame, and Fernando's going down to the bullpen to start his warmups," Scioscia recalled. "As you walk out of our clubhouse in the old Dodger Stadium -- which I don't even know if it's like that anymore -- we had a little video room and then you could go down to go out to the dugout, and you'd go all the way down the hallway, all the way into the bullpen.
"So we're watching the Toronto game. Dave Stewart's pitching, and Dave Stewart is pitching a no-hitter. So Fernando pokes his head in, just when Dave Stewart's getting the last out of his no-hitter, and Fernando says, 'Hey, you saw one on TV, now you're going to see one in person.'
"And he walks out of the bullpen, and throws a no-hitter."
Scioscia insisted the story held true.
"I think I told it after [the game]," he said, "but there wasn't social media back then to really get the word out."
The effort was the only no-hitter of Valenzuela's career. However, Scioscia would also go on to catch Kevin Gross's no-hitter against the Giants on Aug. 17, 1992, during Scioscia's final season.