On Wednesday night in Seattle, a little less than 24 hours after Spencer Turnbull had completed the eighth no-hitter in Detroit Tigers history, the right-hander finally found a challenge he couldn’t answer.
During an in-game interview with the Bally Sports Detroit broadcasting duo of Matt Shepard and Jack Morris, Turnbull was asked whether he’d heard of Johnny Vander Meer.
Turnbull paused for a second, then replied, “I have not, no.” Morris, who’d asked the question, clued him in with the knowledge he’d gained after throwing his own no-hitter for the Tigers in April 1984: Vander Meer is the only pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters in MLB history.