Corey Kluber's no-hitter for the Yankees was the seventh this MLB season; why so many?

Why so many no-hitters?

Is it a deadened 2021 baseball? Is it the pitchers being ahead of the hitters after the 60-game 2020 season? Is it the phases of the moon?

Corey Kluber’s no-hitter on Wednesday night for the Yankees was the sixth in MLB this season (seventh if you count Madison Bumgarner’s seven-inning no-hitter in a doubleheader game, which MLB doesn’t because it was only seven innings). The six are one short of the modern-day record.

And are six (or seven) no-hitters at this point on the calendar a good thing or a bad thing for baseball?

One pitcher who has a no-hitter under his belt says it’s a bad thing.

"It’s not good. I'll tell you that," Dodgers lefthander Clayton Kershaw, who threw a no-hitter in 2014, said in the aftermath of the Yankees’ righthander joining the no-hit Klub against the Texas Rangers.

"No-hitters are cool," Kershaw said. "I have all the respect in the world for Corey Kluber and Bum and all those guys that have thrown no-hitters. But to have one happen every night, it seems like it's probably not good for the game."

It was done on back-to-back nights this week. Detroit’s Spencer Turnbull threw a no-hitter against Seattle on Tuesday.

The other pitchers to throw recognized no-hitters in 2021 are Joe Musgrove (Padres), Carlos Rodon (White Sox), John Means (Orioles) and Wade Miley (Reds).

Yankees manager Aaron Boone was asked on Thursday if he thinks the spate of no-hitters in 2021 somehow makes them less special.

"No-hitters still feel amazing to me," he said. "Actually getting to experience one for the first time in my life, as being on the field for one, no. And I've been in a lot of games and part of a lot of games, so to finally be in one was pretty thrilling. The night before when I got back [to the hotel] and Turnbull had thrown the no-hitter, I watched all the hoopla around that, watched the highlights from that. I still think it's very special."

Going into Thursday, the MLB batting average was .236. The lowest batting average in MLB history was .237 in 1968, which is known as The Year of the Pitcher. Baseball lowered the mound after the 1968 season and is considering rules changes now to increase offense, which is odd as the league just deadened the baseballs because home runs were becoming too easy to hit.

"I think I saw some stats for April that it was the worst hitting month in the history of something," Kershaw said. "Fans want to see some hits, I get that, and some action, and not many people striking out. I appreciate the attempt that MLB has tried to do, but I think it seems like they missed the mark so far. We'll see. I don't know."

Boone said the increase in no-hitters could be because of many factors.

"First and foremost," he said, "there’s a lot of great pitchers right now. Pitching is really good. Pitchers, more than ever, based on information, know exactly what their strengths are, what their weaknesses are. They’re outfitted with the absolute right repertoire for their skillset. So you don’t have a lot of guys going out there throwing pitches that they probably shouldn’t throw because you can analyze everything so much. You’re able to make little adjustments and learn things in real time, almost, with how the ball spins and what you should be doing a little different. Then I think the game plans are a lot more spot on than ever, probably."

If true, wouldn’t the same be true for hitters, too, because they also have a ton of information at their disposal?

So again, why so many no-nos? Maybe there’s no-no good reason and it’s just something that should be enjoyed because it may not happen again.

(Or it may happen again tonight.)

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.