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Meet Addie Joss, the other pitcher to throw 2 no-hitters against the same team

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Tim Lincecum joined elite company on Wednesday. We know enough about Timmy, so here's a primer on said company.

Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum threw his second no-hitter against the Padres on Wednesday, joining Addie Joss as the only pitchers in Major League Baseball history to no-hit the same team twice.

Thanks to satellite television and the Internet, we know just about all there is to know about Lincecum. You know, relatively short guy, funny mustache, unorthodox mechanics, briefly held out for a large signing bonus so that his father could retire -- that sort of stuff. We don't quite know as much about Addie Joss aside from his easy 70-grade name, but there are some interesting facts surrounding the right-handed native son of Woodland, Wis.

Both of Joss' no-hitters came in 1-0 games against the Chicago White Sox. The first, in 1908, was a perfect game -- the second of the modern era. Hall of Fame pitcher Ed Walsh (more on him later) was Joss' opponent in that contest. Walsh arguably pitched a better game -- he struck out 15 batters and allowed only a run on four hits, according to Baseball Almanac, while Joss whiffed only three -- but the White Sox were flummoxed by Joss and his corkscrew delivery, which fooled a lot of hitters over the years.

The other came in May of 1910, just two months before Joss threw his final big league pitch. The then-30-year-old hurler missed the remainder of that season with an injury. A few months later -- just two days after his 31st birthday, in fact -- meningitis took the life of Joss.

Joss finished his tragically brief career with a .0968 WHIP, a figure that still stands as the best in MLB history. It's quite a bit better than the runner-up, who was none other than the aforementioned Walsh. Mariano Rivera is really the only player in recent memory who's been able to come even somewhat close to Joss. In nine seasons, Joss won 160 games, lost only 97, and -- as was pretty standard in his era -- hurled 234 complete games. His career ERA of 1.89 still ranks second all-time behind -- you guessed it -- Walsh.

The Cleveland Naps, now known as the Indians, were scheduled to face the Detroit Tigers on the day of Joss' funeral. After some initial resistance from the league, the club was granted their wish to postpone the game in order to attend the services. During the eulogy given by former ballplayer Billy Sunday, the following passage was delivered (via Joss' SABR profile):
"Joss tried hard to strike out death, and it seemed for a time as though he would win. The bases were full. The score was a tie, with two outs. Thousands, yes, millions in a nation's grandstands and bleachers sat breathless watching the conflict. The great twirler stood erect in the box. Death walked to the plate."
Joss did not meet the 10-year service time requirement held by the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but in 1978, the Veterans Committee finally decided make an exception to the rule and vote him in, albeit 67 years posthumously.

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