No Hitting With the Forsch Brothers

April 15th is the most important date in baseball history. Jackie Robinson became the first black man to play in a Major League game on that date in 1947. It is also one of the most monumental dates in American history, paving the way for the Civil Rights movement. It got me thinking as to what important things happened in baseball on April 16th. One of the items mentioned was that Bob Forsch threw a no hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1978. Then, as so often happens in my brain, I had a random thought.

Self: Aren’t Bob and Ken Forsch the only brothers to throw a no hitter?

Self: Yes they are.

Ken Forsch threw his no hitter for the Houston Astros on April 7, 1979. This was the earliest date for a no hitter in baseball history. Bob Feller threw a no hitter on Opening Day but the date for that was, ironically, April 16, 1940. Though the Brothers Forsch may not have had the careers of ,say the Dean Brothers, they were solid pitchers outside of their no hitters. Bob pitched in three World Series with the Cardinals, becoming a champion on the 1982 squad. He won 168 games over his 16 year career with the Cardinals and Astros, including 20 during the 1977 season. He threw a second no hitter for the Cardinals on September 26, 1983. Back when pitchers actually hit in the National League, Bob won two Silver Slugger awards, in 1980 and 1987. Ken was an All Star in 1976 in Houston and 1981 with the California Angels. He won 114 games over 16 seasons as both a starter and a reliever. In his All Star season in Houston, he had 19 saves and with the Angels, he led the American League in shutouts with four in the strike shortened 1981 campaign.

The Forsch Brothers combined 282 victories ranks eighth on the list of brother pitching duos. While that’s miles from Phil and Joe Niekro’s”s 539 wins, their total is higher than the aforementioned Deans as well as Livan and Orlando Hernandez. Let’s give Bob and Ken Forsch their due as quality pitchers and to me for another random thought turned into an effective blog post.