dudes....this is more than an anamoly. there is a no hitter like every week. even a met pitcher (jon niese) almost threw a perfecto earlier this season. i still think it is lack of steroids.
then why weren't no-no's this common before the steroid era? or has steroids been prevalent since the late 1800's?
i thought about that, and i don't know. maybe the current players are used to steroids and are playing without them for the first time.
No data behind this, just a theory. Historically, the steroid era and the era of relief pitchers are pretty close. Until the mid-70's or so, you didn't see teams using 4 or more pitchers in a game very often. I would be willing to believe that historically, the number of no-hit bids going 5 innings or so hasn't changed much, but in the modern era, managers are more likely to pull the starter for a situational reliever, or before the starter tires and gets rocked late, than was the case 40 years ago.
