Has any major league pitcher ever thrown a no-hitter and lost?
Kenneth Johnson played for the Houston Colt .45s who, on April 23, 1964, became the only pitcher to lose a complete game no-hitter in nine innings when he was beaten 1-0 by the Cincinnati Reds. Pitching a no hitter doesn't mean they won't get on base or score. You can pitch a lot of balls to get someone on base or you can hit them with it, or if there's somebody on base they can steal or you can balk a couple of times, advancing him or sacrificies. Anyone of these can lead to a run, but still the pitcher would be pitching a no hitter if no one got a hit.
Has any pitcher lost a no hitter on an error?
In that situation, he would lose the perfect game but keep the no-hitter. A perfect game would mean no walks, no errors, nothing to allow a runner to reach first. A no-hitter allows a pitcher to be much further from perfect.
Has an MLB pitcher ever thrown a no-hitter where no batter managed to even make contact with the ball?
As others have said, you would have to strikeout all 27 batters. Which has never happened in Major League history.Where it has happened is in the Minor Leagues. It was May 13th 1952, in a Class D game. Class D was equivalent to today’s Rookie League. Minor League Baseball operates 4 Levels. AAA, AA, A and then Rookie.Ron Necciai, playing for the “Bristol Twins”, managed to strikeout all 27 batters. It was not a Perfect Game though as 4 batters managed to reach first, through a Hit by Pitch, Error, a walk and also a Passed Third Strike, that gave him the chance to hit 27 strikeouts. As he had already gotten a batter out through a catch, earlier in the game. So he can’t be said to have “Thrown a No Hitter where no batter managed to even make contact with the ball”, but it is the closest we have.At one stage late in the game, the catcher deliberately dropped a foul ball to ensure that he had the chance to get all 27.He would eventually make his Major League Debut, later in the year in August and would make his final Major League appearance in September. Injuries and stomach ulcers, ruining his potential.Ron Necciai: 27 Strikeouts in Nine Inning Game
Has a pitcher ever thrown a no hitter and lost due to walks/errors? If so, who and when?
There is only one “clean” example of this in MLB history - a pitcher had a complete game, nine inning no-hitter and lost. That was Ken Johnson of Houston vs Cincinnati on April 23rd, 1964.[1] In the Reds’ half of the ninth, Pete Rose bunted with one out and reached second base on a throwing error by Johnson himself. Rose reached third on an infield groundout and scored the winning run on a fielding error by second baseman Nellie Fox. Final score Cincinnati 1, Houston 0.There are two other cases of a pitcher losing a no-hitter where the pitcher played for the visiting team and thus did not pitch the bottom of the ninth with the home team already ahead: Andy Hawkins in 1990[2] (who managed to lose 4–0 when the White Sox scored 4 runs on no hits in the eighth inning) and Matt Young in 1992.[3] There are also two cases of combined (staff) no-hitters by a losing team: in 1967, Detroit beat Baltimore 2–1 while failing to get a hit off starter Steve Barber or reliever Stu Miller[4] and in 2008, the Dodgers beat the Angels 1–0 without getting a hit off starter Jered Weaver or reliever Jose Arredondo (another case where the losers only pitched eight innings.)[5]There is also one case of a pitcher taking a no-hitter into extra innings, giving up a hit in extra innings and losing the game. This was the famous case of Harvey Haddix, who pitched twelve perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves, only to lose the game in the thirteenth.[6]Footnotes[1] Cincinnati Reds at Houston Colt .45's Box Score, April 23, 1964 | Baseball-Reference.com[2] New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox Box Score, July 1, 1990 | Baseball-Reference.com[3] Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians Box Score, April 12, 1992 | Baseball-Reference.com[4] Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles Box Score, April 30, 1967 | Baseball-Reference.com[5] Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score, June 28, 2008 | Baseball-Reference.com[6] Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Braves Box Score, May 26, 1959 | Baseball-Reference.com
Has a knuckleball pitcher ever thrown a no-hitter?
Eddie Cicotte did it in 1917. Hoyt Wilhelm did it in 1958. Phil Niekro did it in 1973. Jessie Haines did it in 1924. Warren Spahn threw two no-hitters, and used the knuckleball regularly, but not primarily. Virgil Trucks, who threw two no-hitters, also used it as a regular pitch. Ted Lyons throw a no-hitter in 1926, but started throwing his knuckleball in 1929. A few guys, including Burt Hooton in 1972, managed a no-no using a knuckle-curve.
Who was the youngest MLB pitcher to throw a no hitter/perfect game?
perfect game : The youngest ever- John Montgomery Ward (1880) - 20 years, 3 months, 14 days The youngest in the modern era (since 1903)- Catfish Hunter (1968) - 22 years, 1 month no hitter: the other guy is right. Amos Rusie 20 Years 2 Months
Has a pitcher ever been denied a no-hitter because of a blown hit/error call?
What do you mean by “blown hit/error call?” As in, the official scorer ruled something a hit that he could/should have ruled an error instead?In 2012, the Mets’ R.A. Dickey pitched a one-hit complete game shutout[1], and after the game, the Mets filed an appeal of the official scorer’s first-inning ruling, insisting that a ground ball base hit by the Rays’ Justin Upton should have been ruled an error,[2] thus negating the Rays’ only hit and giving Dickey a no-hitter. This appeal went precisely nowhere. While official scorers’ judgment calls can and do get reversed after games, Dickey pitched basically the entire game without experiencing the building “pressure” of having a no-hitter going - it would have been a farce to retroactively award him a no-hitter.Footnotes[1] New York Mets at Tampa Bay Rays Box Score, June 13, 2012 | Baseball-Reference.com[2] Dickey's 1-hitter to be appealed
In MLB who is the youngest pitcher to throw a no hitter?
Vida Blue of Oakland was the youngest in the modern era. He was 21 years, 1 month when he no-hit the Twins in 1970. Bud Smith, who someone else mentioned here, was the fourth youngest at 21 years, 11 months. Amos Rusie was the youngest in Major League history. The modern era is anything after 1900. He was 20 years, 2 months when he pitched a no-hitter for the New York Giants in 1890 against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Matt Cain of the Giants almost beat Blue's record last week when he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against the Angels. He's also 21, but I don't know how many months. Another bit of trivia is that Rusie, "The Hoosier Thunderbolt" is the reason the pitcher's mound is 60 feet-6 inches from home plate. When his career started, it was 50 feet from the plate. He was so dominant, they moved it back. A.J. Burnett was 24 years, 5 months when he pitched his no-hitter. He is in the record book, though, as the only guy to walk nine batters in a no-hitter. Nolan Ryan threw the most no-hitters with seven. He also has the distinction of being the youngest player in the league his rookie year at the age of 19 and the oldest player in the league the last eight years running of his career, which ended at the age of 46 years, 1 month. But he was 26 years, 4 months when he pitched his first no-hitter in 1973. He pitched two that year.
Has a pitcher ever lost despite pitching a no hitter?
Reds @ Houston Colt 45s on 4/23/64[1]: Houston starter Ken Johnson did not allow a base hit in the game, but lost to the Reds 1–0. With one out in the top of the 9th, Pete Rose bunted back to Johnson, who threw the ball wildly to first, allowing Rose to advance to second on an E1. Rose reached third on an infield groundout and then scored on another error by the normally reliable second baseman Nellie Fox.[2]The Ken Johnson game is the only “official” no hitter that the starting pitcher lost; to count as a no-hitter, the starting pitcher has to pitch a complete game of at least nine innings without ever surrendering a hit.[3] Thus the games below are not “official” no hitters but certainly merit mention:Harvey Haddix of the Pirates pitched 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves on 5/26/1959[4] before losing in the 13th inning on an error, an intentional walk and a walkoff hit by Joe Adcock. While an astonishing achievement, Haddix is not recognized with a no-hitter because he eventually gave up a hit. Also, Andy Hawkins pitched EIGHT no-hit innings against the White Sox in 1990[5]; the White Sox scored four runs on zero hits in the bottom of the eighth and didn’t have to bat in the ninth. This is also not considered an “official” no hitter because Hawkins didn’t pitch the ninth inning.UPDATE - two more games that I wanted to call out:Matt Young of the Red Sox also lost an eight-inning no hitter on 4/12/1992[6] (hat tip to John Ferguson in comments)Two Baltimore Orioles pitchers - starter Steve Barber and reliever Stu Miller - combined for a no-hitter that the Orioles lost to Detroit, 4/30/1967[7].Footnotes[1] Cincinnati Reds at Houston Colt .45's Box Score, April 23, 1964 | Baseball-Reference.com[2] Big Days in Astros History[3] No-hitter - BR Bullpen[4] Pittsburgh Pirates at Milwaukee Braves Box Score, May 26, 1959 | Baseball-Reference.com[5] New York Yankees at Chicago White Sox Box Score, July 1, 1990 | Baseball-Reference.com[6] Boston Red Sox at Cleveland Indians Box Score, April 12, 1992 | Baseball-Reference.com[7] Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles Box Score, April 30, 1967 | Baseball-Reference.com