Perfection: The amazing history of the 24 best games ever pitched
Don Larsen, Sandy Koufax and the rest.
On this day in 1922, Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Detroit Tigers, winning 2-0.
Twenty seven batters came up and 27 batters went down. No runs, no hits, no errors. Flawless.
At the time, it was only the fourth perfect game ever — and the first in more than a decade. (Addie Joss had thrown one in 1908.)
The perfect game is the stuff of baseball legend — a moment so rare that it has only happened 24 times in the history of the game and only 21 times in the modern era (post 1900).
You can get the full list of all 24 perfect games here. (And a dozen more near-perfect games that lasted until the 9th inning before being broken up.)
For today’s post, I wanted to dig into a few of the perfectos that stand out most to me.
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The first perfect game
You remember the Worcester Ruby Legs, right? Right??? They were members of the National League from 1880-1882 — and in that inaugural year southpaw Lee Richmond threw a perfect game on June 12 against the Cleveland Blues. The game was played at the Worcester County Agricultural Fairgrounds.
The term “perfect game” didn’t even exist yet (that came early in the 20th century) but here’s how Richmond described his outing: “It is a singular thing of that no-hit, no-run, no-man-reach-first game in 1880 that I can remember almost nothing except that my jump ball and my half stride ball were working splendidly and that the boys behind me gave me perfect support.” The jump ball! The half-stride ball!
The game was delayed by rain in the 7th inning but still only took 86 minutes — the shortest game on record to that point.
Here’s the scorecard from the game:
And here’s my favorite part of it all — how Richmond readied himself to pitch perfection:
On the Thursday prior to his Saturday perfect game, Richmond had shut down Cleveland 5-0 in a game played in Worcester. He then returned to the Brown University campus to attend what is described as “graduation festivities and parties,” all of which kept him going until 4:30 a.m. when he stepped in to play in a class baseball game. He finally went to bed at 6:30 a.m. and slept until about 11:30 a.m., when he woke up to catch the train to Worcester. The train was delayed, so he was forced to pitch without having the chance to eat a meal or even to warm up properly.
The last perfect game
When the Yankees’ Domingo German stepped on the mound in Oakland on June 28, 2023, there hadn’t been a perfect game in Major League Baseball in more than a decade (more on that below). German was an unlikely hero — as he had allowed 15 earned runs on 15 hits in 5 1/3 innings over his previous two starts. Just over a month before his perfect game, German had been suspended by MLB for using too much rosin on the mound. The crew chief in that game said that German had “the stickiest hand I’ve ever felt,” adding: “My fingers had a hard time coming off his palm.”
In his perfect game, German threw 99 total pitches — 72 for strikes. He was the first player born in the Dominican Republican to throw a perfect game. And was the fourth Yankee in history to do so — the most of any MLB ball club.
German struggled to replicate his form for the remainder of the year, finishing 5-7 with a 4.56 era.
The year of the perfect game
In 2012 alone, there were three perfect games tossed — 12.5% of all the perfect games ever thrown!
Just weeks into the season (April 21), a journeyman pitcher named Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox threw a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners. It was only Humber’s 30th career start in the big leagues. And it was a lone bright spot in Humber’s career; he pitched for 8 seasons but finished with a record of 16-23 and a 5.31 lifetime era.
The game — and, specifically, the final out — was hugely controversial. Humber went to a 3 balls, 2 strike count on pinch hitter Brendan Ryan. On the payoff pitch, he threw a wild slider that got by Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski. Ryan would likely have been safe at first on a dropped third strike call had he, well, run. Instead, he spent the time arguing with the home plate umpire on whether he had swung or not. Pierzynski threw him out at first. Humber’s perfect game was sealed.
Less than two months later, Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants — a much more accomplished hurler than Humber — threw the 2nd perfect game of the season. Cain was electric against the Houston Astros, striking out 14. (That tied Sandy Koufax’s record for most strikeouts in a perfect game.)
Cain’s perfecto was saved by an incredible catch by Gregor Blanco in right-center field in the 7th inning.
Fun fact: Ted Barrett was the home plate umpire that night. He was also behind the plate when David Cone threw a perfect game for the Yankees on July 18, 1999. Barrett is the only umpire to have home plate for TWO perfect games.
Two months after Cain threw his perfect game, Seattle Mariners ace Felix Hernandez followed suit — on August 15 against the Tampa Bay Rays. (Worth noting: Hernandez and Humber both threw perfect games at Safeco Field — roughly four months apart. In between those two perfect games, six Mariners pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter on June 8!)
For the Rays, it was a familiar feeling. In 2009 Mark Buerhle of the White Sox threw a perfect game against them. In 2010, Dallas Braden of the A’s did the same.
Of his effort — in which he struck out 12 of the 27 batters he faced (including the last one) — Hernandez told the crowd after the game: “I don’t have any words to explain this. I’ve been working so hard to throw one and today is for you guys.”
Three perfect games in a single year had never been accomplished before or since. There were two — Braden and the Phillies’ Roy Halladay — in 2010 and in 1880 (Lee Richmond and John Ward of the Providence Grays).
The most famous perfect game
Of the two dozen perfect games in history, only one has ever been thrown in the playoffs — by Don Larsen of the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series.
Larsen was far from the brightest or biggest star for the Bronx Bombers that year. That squad had Yogi Berra behind the plate, Mickey Mantle roaming the outfield and Billy Martin at 2nd base. Whitey Ford was the team’s ace.
Larsen took the ball for Game 5 on October 8, 1956. His previous two World Series starts didn’t bode well; he lasted a total of 5 2/3 innings combined. And his perfect game was a moment of brilliance in an otherwise mediocre career. Larsen pitched for 14 years and ended with a sub .500 record: 81-91.
But on that October day, he was unhittable. Larsen threw only 97 pitches and went to a three-ball count only once. And this was against the Brooklyn Dodgers who had gone 93-61 in the regular season and had a star-studded lineup that included Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese.
Legendary broadcast Vin Scully was on the call that day and when Larsen recorded the final out declared it “the greatest game ever pitched in baseball history.”
The greatest perfect game
So, which of the 24 was the best pitching performance ever? Larsen’s certainly came at the biggest moment. But, for my money, the best pitching performance was by Sandy Koufax, who threw a perfect game on September 9, 1965 against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium.
Koufax struck out 14 in that game — including the final six(!) batters. Koufax struck out Hall of Famer Ernie Banks three times.
“I think the stuff I had tonight was the best I’ve had all season,” Koufax said at the time. “I had a real good fastball, and that sort of helps your curve. I thought the fastball was really working the last three innings.”
Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley has his good stuff too. He allowed a single hit and one walk in the entire game. (The Dodgers scored an unearned run to win 1-0.)
And, again, Scully was on the call — delivering one of the most memorable 9th innings of all time.
Koufax retired the following season due to debilitating arm problems. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972 — the youngest player ever to be so honored at age 36.
While your post focused on perfect games, IMHO the greatest game ever pitched occurred on July 2, 1963 when Juan Marichal faced off against Warren Spahn In Candlestick Park. With both starters still pitching, the Giants won 1-0 on a Willie Mays walk-off home run on Spahn’s 201st pitch in the bottom of the 16th inning. By comparison, Marichal had thrown 227 pitches.
And with pitchers rarely doing complete games anymore (and, iirc, Dave Roberts taking out one of his pitcher's who was pitching a perfecto in an early season game no-less a few years ago) it's a feat that will get harder and harder (and, as the kids say, "miss me" with that combined no-hitter/perfect game by committee crap lol).