I remember as a kid how special a no-hitter in Major League Baseball was.

The idea of recording 27 outs without allowing a team at least one hit was an amazing feat.

But, does anyone, anymore, get excited about a no-no?

I say no-no.

Other than the pitcher — or pitchers — who throw them and the teams they represent, it almost seems like just another game.

This season alone, in a little over two months, there have been four no-hitters, including Friday’s 1-0 win by the Seattle Mariners over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Six pitchers combined for the feat, including six innings by journeyman Kevin Millwood, who also threw one back in 2003.

He shared the honor this time with Brandon League, Tom Wilhelmsen, Charlie Furbush, Stephen Pryor and Lucas Luetge.

They joined Johan Santana of the New York Mets, Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels and Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox — a perfect game, actually — to toss a no-hitter this year.

There was almost a fifth when Detroit’s Justin Verlander no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates through eight innings before giving up a leadoff single in the ninth inning to Josh Harrison.

The no-hitter has become like the perfect game of bowling. Rolling a 300, while still a tremendous achievement, has become a little more commonplace in recent years.

No-hitters appear to be the same.

Dating back to 1875, there have been 276 no-hitters, 236 which came since 1900. Both totals translate into about two no-nos a year.

However, since 2000, there have been 28 no-hitters and since 2007, a whopping 20 no-hitters have been recorded.

The perfect game, however, has been very rare, as Humber’s was just the 21st in major league history.

The perfect game has now become the benchmark of pitching excellence. There’s something very clean about perfection — 27 up, 27 down.

And, there has never been a shared perfect game. One pitcher vs. 27 hitters. No matter how tired or fatigued the pitcher becomes, no one’s pinch-hitting for him, no one’s placing a call to the bullpen. It’s all on his shoulders — and he delivers.

No-hitters are nice. It’s nice to see — and better to witness — the progression throughout the game, but I’m not as impressed anymore, not when they seem to be leading off a lot of highlight shows.

Soon, it may become an afterthought, something that might be the lead-in after the first commercial break.

A perfect game? I’m in. Color me impressed. Very impressed. I’m seeing perfection and isn’t that what top-flight athletes strive for?

That’s what sets the bar higher, at a level no one else can best.

Sam Tallarico is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.