Harvey Haddix Jr. (September 18, 1925 – January 8, 1994) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pitching coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1952–1956), Philadelphia Phillies (1956–57), Cincinnati Redlegs (1958), Pittsburgh Pirates (1959–1963), and Baltimore Orioles (1964–65). The three-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion is most notable for pitching 12 perfect innings against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959, arguably the greatest game ever pitched in major league history. The Pirates left-hander retired a record 36 batters in a row before he allowed a base-runner, only to lose the game on an unearned run in the 13th inning.
In 1991, Major League Baseball changed the definition of a no-hitter to "a game in which a pitcher or pitchers complete a game of nine innings or more without allowing a hit." The revised requirement retroactively disqualified Haddix's gem even though he had recorded more consecutive perfect innings in one game than anyone in major league history. The pitcher was matter of fact in his response. "It's O.K.," he shrugged. "I know what I did." In 1979, as Pirates pitching coach, he was part of a second World Series championship team.
Haddix was commonly referred to as "The Kitten", a nickname that was afforded him while with Triple A Columbus early in his minor league career. General manager George Sisler Jr. likened the young pitcher to St. Louis Cardinals veteran pitcher Harry Brecheen, another undersized left-hander who was known as "Harry The Cat" in baseball circles. Sisler wondered what it would be like to have The Cat and The Kitten paired in a doubleheader.
Early life
Born on September 18, 1925 in Medway, Ohio, located just outside Springfield, Haddix was the third son of Nellie Mae Greider-Haddix and Harvey Haddix Sr.. His parents were farmers near Westville in west central Ohio, 20 miles from Medway.
Performance for the ages
Haddix took a perfect game into the 13th inning against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959. He retired 36 consecutive batters in 12 innings, essentially relying on two pitches: fastball and slider. However, Braves pitcher Lew Burdette was also pitching a shutout,
What made Haddix's performance even more impressive was the fact that it came against a star-studded Braves team on its home field. He faced a line-up that featured future Hall of Famers Hank Aaron and Eddie Mathews as well as All-Stars Del Crandall and Johnny Logan and sluggers Joe Adcock and Wes Covington. The Braves won the NL pennant in 1957 and 1958 and would lose in a three-game playoff later this season. Mazeroski said of Haddix's dominance, "Usually you have one or two great or spectacular defensive plays in these no-hitters. Not that night. It was the easiest game I ever played in."