27K in 9 innings

On May 13, 1952 one of professsional baseball histories greatest pitching performances took place at Shaw Stadium in Bristol, Virginia. Ronald Necciai of the Bristol Twins struck out 27 batters in a 7-0 no-hitter over the Welch Miners. One batter did reach basae on a wild third strike. One hitter did manage to ground out.

So how was it that Necciai did not start a Hall of Fame career right then and there. Well, one game or season does not a career make. Necciai had signed with the Pirates as an 18 year olld free agent in 1950. He did have some moderate success early peaking at AA ball with the New Orleans Pelicans in 1951. After a great 6 game start with the Twins, he was promoted to the Burlington-Grahm Pirates of the Class B Carolina League. This is where he spent the bulk of the season. In early August he got called up to the Pirates for a 12 game stint. In his last appearance, he struck out a career high 8 batters aginst the Reds in a seven inning performance. Unfortunately he never made it back. He did come close, pitching three games for the Hollywood Stars at the end of his career in 1955.

Many of the people profiled in this project are shooting stars in the history of the game. Not everyone can be Willie Mays or Yogi Berra. as for tommorrow we will look at one of the many feats of Basketball great Michael Jordan.