Being first in anything is a great moment.
There are many firsts in baseball, but sometimes it can be historical.
Kansas City Royals pitcher Steve Busby celebrated a first for him and his team on April 27, 1973.
That night, Busby tossed the first of four no-hitters in the history of the Royals in just his 10th start as Kansas City beat Detroit 3-0 at Tiger Stadium.
The righthander had some control issues as he walked six, but he was always able to work out of trouble as the Royals turned a pair of double plays to help the cause.
Another interesting first about this contest is that it’s the first no-hitter to feature a designated hitter.
Gates Brown was the DH for the Tigers and he grounded into a twin-killing when Busby walked two in the fourth inning.
In the seventh, Busby walked Bill Freehan and the Tiger catcher was the only runner to reach third base thanks to a ground out and a wild pitch.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth when Ed Kirkpatrick smacked a solo homer of Detroit starter Jim Perry, who would pitch until the ninth.
Amos Otis also homered in the eighth to make it 2-0. The final run came on a error in the ninth.
In just his second big league season, Busby finished 16-15 with a 4.08 ERA. He was third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Baltimore’s Al Bumbry and Milwaukee’s Pedro Garcia.
The Second No-Hitter
Just a year later, Busby tossed his second career no-hitter at Milwaukee on June 19, 1974.
The California native was nearly perfect in the 2-0 win over the Brewers as he allowed just one base runner with a walk to George Scott in the second inning.
Busby would make the American League all-star team that season, but not pitch in the contest. He finished with a 22-14 record with 20 complete games.
The 1974 Card
Busby shared his 1973 Topps rookie card with Doc Medich of the New York Yankees and Dick Colpaert of the Cleveland Indians, so the next year was his first by himself.
The information on the back is interesting as it contains that he was construction foreman in the off-season.
On the baseball side, it also mentions that while pitching for Omaha in the American Association, Busby fanned eight batters in a row and struck out 16 in a game.
Two-Time All-Star
Busby pitched two innings during the 1975 all-star game in Milwaukee as he was on his way to an 18-12 season with the Royals.
In his career, Busby was 70-54 during eight seasons from 1972 to 1980. He suffered a torn rotator cuff in 1976 causing him to miss the entire 1977 season in the big leagues.
Busby was joined by Otis in 1986 as the first inductees in the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.
Other No-Hitters
Jim Colborn (1977) and Bret Saberhagen (1991) threw the other no-hitters for the Royals.