Cincinnati Reds: Most unbreakable feats in team history

4. Johnny Vander Meer’s back-to-back no-hitters

There may never be a feat like what was witnessed by Johnny Vander Meer in 1938. Vander Meer, a southpaw, took the mound on June 11, 1938 against the Boston Bees. In front of 5,814 fans at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, Vender Meer sat down every single Bees player without allowing a hit. But few would’ve ever thought that he’d do the same thing during his next start.

Vander Meer went the distance against Boston on June 11th. The left-hander walked three batters and struck out four while no allowing a single hit. Vander Meer’s next start was on the road in the Big Apple against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The lights were shining a bit brighter that night. The game didn’t start until after 9 o’clock that evening and over 38,000 fans were in attendance at Ebbetts Field. Vander Meer didn’t have his same stuff that night, as the southpaw actually walked eight batters. In fact, the Dodgers had four different occasions in which there was a runner in scoring position.

But, Vander Meer wriggled out of trouble on multiple occasions, struck out seven of the 35 batters he faced and recorded the first and only back-to-back no-hitters in Major League Baseball history. I feel confident in saying that this isn’t just a team record that will never be broken, but it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see any major leaguer ever accomplish that again.