A no-hitter in baseball is a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from recording any hits during the entire game. According to Major League Baseball (MLB) rules, for a no-hitter to be official, the pitching team must pitch at least nine innings without allowing a hit. In a no-hitter, although no hits are allowed, opposing batters can still reach base through other means such as walks, errors, being hit by a pitch, passed balls, or catcher's interference. Because of this, it is possible (though rare) for a team to throw a no-hitter and still lose the game. A perfect game is a special kind of no-hitter in which no batter reaches base at all—meaning no hits, walks, errors, or other ways of reaching base. No-hitters are much more common than perfect games, which are extremely rare. In summary:
- A no-hitter means no hits allowed by the pitching team over at least nine innings.
- Batters may still reach base via non-hit ways.
- A perfect game means no batter reaches base by any means.
- No-hitters are rare but occur more frequently than perfect games.
This definition clarifies that the term "no-hitter" refers to the absence of any hit recorded against a pitcher or pitching staff throughout the entire duration of a game of at least nine innings.
