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| NC Dinos' Charlie Shirek throws a pitch during a game against the LG Twins in Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap |
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The NC Dinos' Charlie Shirek Tuesday held the LG Twins hitless for nine innings, becoming the first foreign pitcher to pitch a no-hitter in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
The American pitcher allowed three walks with seven strikeouts while throwing 110 pitches, helping the visiting Dinos rout the Twins 6-0.
The game was also meaningful, as Shirek put an end to a 14-year no-hitter drought in the country's top baseball league, and was the 11th in the KBO's 32-year history.
The KBO's first no-hitter took place on May 5, 1984 in a game between the Haitai Tigers, the former Kia Tigers, and the now-defunct Sami Superstars. The Tigers' Bang Soo-won was the first to toss a no-hitter. He recorded six strikeouts with three walks to lead his team to a 5-0 victory.
It took two seasons for fans to see the second no-hitter. On June, 5, 1986, the Lotte Giants' Kim Jeong-haeng shut out the Bingrae Eagles — a predecessor of the current Hanwha Eagles. Kim struck out five batters, allowing four walks.
On May 2, 1988, Jang Ho-yeon of the OB Bears, currently the Doosan Bears, prevented the Giants from getting any hits. It was their opener that season. Jang did not record a single strikeout, but his teammates helped him hold the Giants hitless. The catcher was Kim Kyung-moon, the current manager of the Dinos.
Just two weeks after Jang's no-no, the Bingrae Eagles' Lee Dong-seok became the fourth pitcher to achieve the biggest milestone in his career. He struck out five hitters without a walk. He missed the chance to throw a perfect game due to his team's two errors, and most importantly, his team only managed to score a single run.
On July, 6, 1989, the nation's legendary pitcher and current manager of the Kia Tigers, Sun Dong-ryul, dominated a game against the Samsung Lions, striking out nine hitters with three walks, in recording his first no-hitter.
Next year, Lee Tae-il of the Lions became the sixth pitcher to toss a no-hitter against the Giants.
On April, 30, 1993, Kim Won-hyung of the Ssangbangwool Raiders, which disbanded in 2000, became the seventh and youngest pitcher to throw a no-hitter. He was only 20. Five months later, Kim Tae-won of the Twins also threw a no-hitter.
In 1997, the Hanwha Eagles' Jeong Min-cheol tossed a no-hitter against the OB Bears. He struck out eight batters without walk. He could have become the first pitcher to record a perfect game, but one batter reached first base courtesy of an uncaught third strike.
Before Shrirek's no-no game, Hanwha Eagles' Song Jin-woo's no-hitter against the Haitai Tigers was the last one recorded. Song also became the oldest pitcher to achieve the hitless game, as he was 34 year old.
Other interesting records are that in 1996, the now-defunct Hyundai Unicorns' Jeong Myeong-won threw a no-hitter against the Tigers in the fourth game of the Korean Series. It was his first no-hitter and it was also the first in postseason game.
After Song's last no-no game in 2000 and before Shirek's record, there were many close calls in bids for no-hitters. Eleven pitchers almost reached the milestone but failed due to a single hit, and 23 pitchers came within two hits.
In 2004, Bae Youg-soo of the Lions failed in his bid for a no-hitter in the fourth game of the Korean Series against the Unicorns. He dominated the game over the first 10 innings, not allowing a hit with only one walk. But the two teams failed to score for 12 innings and the game ended in a tie due to play-time regulations.
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