The greatest game ever pitched

On Kerry Wood.

On May 7, 1998, Kerry Wood pitched the single best game in the history of Major League Baseball.

Wood, who was only 20(!) years old at the time, shut out the Houston Astros 2-0. He struck 20 batters out on 122 total pitches. He allowed a single hit — to shortstop Ricky Gutierrez. And, honestly, that should have been scored an error on third baseman Kevin Orie.

The only other baserunner for the Astros was second baseman Craig Biggio, who was hit by a pitch.

“It definitely was a defining moment,” Wood later said of the game. “For me, it showed me that I belonged here, it's not a fluke that I'm here, I deserve to be here. I can compete at this level. It set the bar for the rest of my career, the rest of my outings after that.”

He would never fly quite as a high again. (In Wood’s defense, only three other pitchers have ever struck out 20 batters in a game: Rogers Clemens (twice), Randy Johnson and Max Scherzer.)

That first year — 1998 — was Wood’s best year in the big leagues. He finished 13-6 with a 3.40 ERA and 233 strikeouts. He was named National League Rookie of the Year.

Wood missed the entire next season after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament in spring training — an omen of arm troubles to come. (Wood would later say he felt something wrong in his elbow during his 20 strikeout game.) Wood wound up playing 12 more years in MLB and won double-digit games in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He made two All Star teams. He won 86 total games against 75 losses.

Injuries — Wood was on the disabled list 13 times over his career — meant that he never was able to live up to the potential he showed on that May day in 1998.

But, on that day, he delivered the greatest nine-inning pitching performance ever, as measured by famous baseball statistician Bill James.

James, back in the 1980s, came up with a way to rate how good a pitcher’s outing was. He called it “Game Score.” Here’s how it works:

• Start with 50 points
• Add 1 point for each out recorded (or 3 points per inning)
• Add 2 points for each inning completed after the fourth
• Add 1 additional point for every strikeout
• Remove 2 points for each hit allowed
• Remove 4 points for each earned run allowed
• Remove 2 points for each unearned run allowed
• Remove 1 point for each walk allowed

The average Game Score for a pitcher is between 40-70 although James’ scale ranged from 0-100.

Wood’s game score on May 6, 1998? 105 — the highest ever measured for a pitcher. As MLB explained it:

Wood started with a baseline score of 50 and received 37 points for his nine innings of work (1 point for each out and 2 points for each inning completed after the fourth) and 20 points for his 20 K's while losing two points for his lone hit allowed.

The second highest Game Score ever was from Scherzer — but it wasn’t his 20 strikeout game in 2016. It was a year earlier when Scherzer, then with the Washington Nationals, struck out 17 New York Mets in a 2-0 no-hitter. (It was Scherzer’s 2nd no hitter of the season.). His Game Score was 104.

There have only been 14 other times in MLB history when a pitcher has notched a Game Score of 100 or higher in a 9-inning game. Aside from Scherzer, only one pitcher has gotten to 100 more than once — Nolan Ryan, who did it three times.

The most recent 100 Game Score was in 2019 for Astros hurler Justin Verlander. Verlander notched a 100 on the dot with a 14 strikeout no hitter (he walked one) on September 1, 2019.

Here’s all 16 times a pitcher earned a Game Score of 100 or higher:

If you’re wondering where Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series — regarded by many as the greatest game ever pitched — rates in terms of Game Score, it’s not nearly as high as you might think: 94. Why? Larsen only struck out 7 batters.