"Righetti made his first full season in the majors one to remember. He no-hit the Boston Red Sox on July 4, the first no-hitter pitched by a Yankee since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series against Brooklyn. He had pitched his first major league shutout in his previous start, against Baltimore on June 29.
Dave led Yankee pitchers in strikeouts for the second straight year, fanning seven or more in 12 games, including a career-high 11 against the White Sox on August 15. He had a hot first half, winning 10 of 13 decisions before the All-Star break.
Born in San Jose, California, his father Leo was a second baseman in the Yankee system. Dave played with Dave Stieb, now of Toronto, at San Jose Community College and played against Carney Lansford, now of Oakland, in American Legion ball. Righetti was 1981 AL Rookie of the Year, but spent parts of that season and 1982 at the Yankees' Columbus (AAA) farm team."
-Tracy Ringolsby, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1984 Edition
"This fireballing 25-year-old left-hander forever captured the heart of the baseball world when he no-hit the powerful Boston Red Sox on the birthday of America- July Fourth, 1983. He's the kind of player who you have to root for. We all know his history- young lefty, lots of promise, wild, up and down to Columbus, in the bullpen, as a starter, and so on and so forth. You won't find his name in scandal-mongering headlines. He has matured so much it is incredible. But along with his maturity, he maintains a fanatical desire to win, for the fans, for himself and for his teammates. If they asked him to bat cleanup, don't bet he wouldn't, if he thought it would help the team to an Eastern title.
In 1981, in the third game of the World Series, he hooked up with (then) sensational Fernando Valenzuela. David came out second best. That, he did not like.
'It was like a golfer who leads a tournament from start to finish,' he said. 'People seem to remember only the last hole, and if the guy misses a putt, they remember that- not what he did before. I learned a lot from that game, and I want a chance to get back in that Series and prove something to myself, my team and the fans.'
He's done a lot of proving since, hasn't he? And he's not through yet. He's the kind of team player who may not even get into a game, but be totally spent after the game. Whether he is on the bench or in the bullpen, he watches everything and roots harder for the Yankees than most fans. Now, with everything behind him, everything is in front of him- thankfully for Yankee fans."
-The New York Yankees Official 1984 Yearbook
"Righetti capped off an outstanding 1983 season with his July 4th no-hitter at Yankee Stadium against the Red Sox. He was 10-3 in the first half of the season and ended the season 7-3 against the American League East. Righetti pitched career highs in starts, complete games, innings pitched, wins and strikeouts. He struck out 11 against Chicago on August 15 and struck out seven or more on 12 occasions. Dave hurled back-to-back shutouts on June 29 against Baltimore (his first major league shutout) and July 4 against Boston (the no-hitter).
Dave beat Boston at Yankee Stadium on July 4th, 4-0, with a no-hitter (9 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 9K). He threw 132 pitches and the temperature was in the high 90's. Only four reached base (all via walks: Rice twice, Nichols and Newman); Nichols was picked off first (caught stealing) and Rice was doubled off once. Dave faced only 29 batters.
It was the first no-hitter by a Yankee since Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against Brooklyn, and the first regular season no-hitter by a Yankee since Allie Reynolds no-hit Boston in New York in September 1951 in the first game of a doubleheader. Righetti's was the first no-hitter by a Yankee left-hander since George Mogridge threw a no-hitter in Boston in April 1917.
Righetti was named American League Rookie of the Year in 1981. After a disappointing 1980 season at AAA, he solved his control problems. He was 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA at Columbus when recalled by the Yankees on May 21 and won his first major league game with an impressive performance against Cleveland on May 23. He also won in Cleveland and Kansas City for a 3-0 first half record with a 1.50 ERA. Rags had a strikeout to walk ratio of better than 2:1 and opposing hitters had only a combined average of .196 against him (lowest in the AL). He struck out a career high of 11 Boston batters on September 11. Dave narrowly missed winning the AL ERA crown with a 2.06 ERA- he fell just 1.2 innings short of qualifying.
In the postseason, Dave started Game 2 of the Eastern Division Series against Milwaukee and combined with Ron Davis and Goose Gossage for a 3-0 shutout. He came in to relieve Guidry in Game 5 of the Division Series in New York and earned the win. Rags also won the clinching game of the ALCS, Game 3 in Oakland, but started and got a no-decision in Game 3 of the World Series in Los Angeles.
Righetti suffered the sophomore jinx in 1982 but still posted a career high 11 wins. He led the Yankee pitching staff with 163 strikeouts, finishing third in the AL behind Floyd Bannister (209) and Len Barker (187). Dave also led the Yankee pitching staff with nine wins following a Yankee loss.
Dave started the '82 season with the Yankees winning his first game but was bothered by control problems and was optioned to Columbus on June 27 with a 5-5 record. He started the game of May 30 at Minnesota by striking out the first five batters (Gary Ward, Ron Washington, Tom Brunansky, Ken Hrbek and Dave Engle). On June 10 at Boston he pitched a no-hitter for the first 6.1 innings. Dave made four relief appearances following his recall from Columbus and ended the season completing seven full innings in his last six starts, winning his last three decisions. He was the toughest Yankee left-handed pitcher to hit, allowing only 155 hits in 677 at-bats for a .229 average.
Righetti made his major league on September 16, 1979 against Detroit at Yankee Stadium on Catfish Hunter Day with no decision. He was named to the Topps National Association Class AAA All-Star team in 1979. On July 16, 1978 for Tulsa, he struck out 21 batters at Midland, striking out the side four times and having a stretch of seven straight K's.
Dave grew up in San Jose where he was All-League in baseball at Pioneer High School, and also played basketball. A Giants and A's fan growing up, he played against A's third baseman Carney Lansford in American Legion ball. He attended San Jose City College where he was a teammate of Blue Jay pitcher Dave Stieb, and won JC Player of the Year honors in 1977. His brother Steve is in the Texas organization. His father is a former minor league shortstop, and the first time he saw Dave pitch professionally was in the clinching game of the ALCS in Oakland."
-1984 New York Yankees Information Guide
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