No-Hitters and Perfect Games
A no-hitter means the starting pitcher allows zero hits throughout the game. Walks and errors are permitted but hits are zero. Perfect games are stricter - zero hits, walks, errors, or hit-by-pitches. NPB has seen 90-plus no-hitters but only 16 perfect games. Perfect game rarity is approximately 6 times greater, making it pitching's most difficult achievement.
Multiple Achievers
Several NPB pitchers achieved multiple no-hitters. Eiji Sawamura's 3 are NPB's most. Sotokoba (Hiroshima) also achieved 3, including 1 perfect game. Recently, Sasaki Roki's 2022 perfect game was followed by 8 perfect innings the next week - unprecedented. No-hitters depend on defensive support and game flow beyond pitcher skill, with significant luck factors.
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Memorable No-Hitters
Makihara's (Giants) 1994 perfect game against Hiroshima ranks among NPB's most famous. Yamamoto Masa's (Chunichi) 2006 no-hitter at 41 years 1 month holds the NPB age record. Sugiuchi's (Giants) 2012 no-hitter featured dramatic near-perfect-game tension when the 28th batter got a hit.
Perfect game books offer useful context
No-Hitter Value
No-hitters are once-in-a-lifetime achievements. Despite 90-plus across 70-plus years, the 1-2 annual frequency maintains high rarity. Achieving pitchers have their games eternally retold. The fact of achieving a no-hitter can exceed career statistics in value - it represents unreproducible single-game perfection as art.