Surprising Facts About Mariner’s Iwakuma No-Hitter

Wednesday, Hisashi Iwakuma became the 5th Mariner to throw a no-hitter in a 3-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Safeco Field. If it seems like there's been a lot of no-no's in baseball lately, there have. Just NOT in the American League. Here's some surprising facts about Iwakuma's feat.

• The last 3 no-hitters thrown in the AL have all been done by the Mariners. 6 Mariner pitchers combined to no-hit the Dodgers in June 2012, Felix Hernandez threw a perfect game (not allowing a runner to reach base) in August of that same year against Tampa Bay, and then Wednesday Iwakuma vs. Baltimore.
• There hasn't been a no-hitter in the AL since Hernandez' perfect game.  Many have come close, but nobody between Felix and Iwakuma. By comparison, in between the two Mariner feats, there have been 12 in the National League!
• Iwakuma's no-hitter was his first ever complete game, going 9 innings, out of his 88 major league starts.
• He is the oldest AL player to throw a no-hitter in 16 years. The last player who was older was in 1999 when David Cone at age 36 no-hit the Monteal Expos while playing for the Yankees. Iwakuma is 34.

With all that pitching success, including the two no-hitters in the same season in 2012, it's surprising the Mariners have not enjoyed more success in the standings. But at least they've got some arms that will throw great games to watch.