MA Furniture Store's Insurer Is Nervous As MLB No-Hitters Pile Up

MASSACHUSETTS — You've seen the commercials: make a purchase at Jordan's Furniture between April 14 and May 23 and, if the Red Sox throw a no-hitter between Aug. 3 and Oct. 3, the store will refund your money.

In most seasons, the bet would favor the house: John Lester was the last Red Sox pitcher to throw a no-no on May 19, 2008. But this has not been a typical season, as there have already been four no-hitters in the big leagues this season, including two last week.

Jordan’s Furniture CEO Eliot Tatelman told the Boston Business Journal he's not worried about the tens of millions of dollars in refund checks his company may have to cut in October, but his insurers are. The company has been running similar promotions tied to the Red Sox season since 2005 and has never had to pay out on a no-hitter, but it did make $30 million refunds after the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series.

Tatelman estimated the final tally could be $100 million, and he told BBJ he has already gotten a nervous phone call from an executive at his insurance company (which he declined to name). The company has seen strong sales, both because of the promotion and the pandemic, which has people looking to upgrade the furniture they have been spending much more time on.

One thing does have Tatelman worried: a new MLB rule that has teams play two seven-inning games when they play a double-header. MLB doesn't recognize no-hitters thrown in the seven-inning games, and neither will Jordan's. In addition to the four official, nine-inning no-hitters, there has already been a seven-inning no-hitter this year.

"My phone will be ringing off the hook," Tatelman said, "and I won’t be able to walk down Boylston Street anymore."

For more on this story, see the Boston Business Journal.