In 2021, John Means gave Orioles fans one of the most exciting things a team can witness in a regular season game. When he pitched his perfect no-hitter on May 5, he was on top of the world. He struck out 12, walked zero, and was just a dropped third strike away from perfection.
The no-hitter was his seventh start of 26 he’d make that season, a year in which he put up a solid 3.62 ERA. We thought it was a sign that Means was a stable pitcher at the top of the rotation with his second above-average season in three years (the two years being sandwiched around the COVID 2020).