It is well known knowledge throughout the MLB (Major League of Baseball) or any division of baseball that if a pitcher is throwing a perfect game or no-hitter, that no fan, player, announcer, or anyone involved in the game utter the phrases “perfect game” or “no-hitter.” This widely known superstition throughout baseball is an unwritten law that it is said to jinx the pitcher of successfully completing a no-hitter or perfect game. (For those who don’t know what these two things are, a no-hitter is when the pitcher allows not one hit throughout the game. A perfect game is where no player from the opposing team reaches base on any form such as a walk, hit, hit-by-pitch, etc.) Instead, many times when a pitcher is in the middle of one of these two actions, many fans simply state that the pitcher “hasn’t allowed anyone on base.”

Information of the Informant: The informant is my brother who played baseball up until he was seventeen years old. He is an avid baseball watcher and could essentially state every stat from every player in the MLB. Anytime there someone is throwing a perfect game or no-hitter, he is the first to address that the two phrases should not be said. Such was the case last year when the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Clayton Kershaw threw a no-hitter.

Analysis: This baseball superstition shares similarities to lots of other superstitions that deal with the “jinx.” By simply muttering the phrases “no hitter” or “perfect game,” the actual perfection by the pitcher won’t happen. Unlike other superstitions like spilling salt, there is no known way to counter the baseball jinx.