Expert: Tom Schott - 2/8/2009

Question
We all know about johnny vander meer, but i'm convinced that something happened back in the eighties that is just as impressive but is remembered by only me. I'm not entirely sure that a false memory isn't at play here but didn't dave stieb end the '87 season with 2 1-hitters and then toss another in his 2nd start of '88,giving him 3 1-hitters in 4 starts? Just found this site and I love it.

Answer
Hi Bill,

Well, your memory is a little skewed, like all of us, but you're close. In 1988, Stieb ended the season with two consecutive 1-hitters: on September 24 at Cleveland, and on September 30 at home against Baltimore. He began the next year, 1989, with a 4-hitter complete game at Kansas City on April 5, and then a 1-hitter against New York in Yankee Stadium on April 10. Steib's first three decisions that year were shutouts, two of them complete games.

You know about www.baseball-reference.com, right?