Can’t Do It Any Better: MLB’s 24 perfect games

It’s one of the most pristine accomplishments in all of sports. Pitchers who get each and every one of the hitters they face out in succession secure a special place in baseball history. New York Yankees hurler Domingo German was the most recent player to join that club in late June. We’ll take a look back at each pitcher in baseball history who has thrown a perfect game.

German stymied the rebuilding Oakland Athletics all evening, making him the first pitcher in 11 years to throw a perfect game. It makes sense that we’d see fewer instances of these as time progresses, considering that pitchers rarely are allowed to pitch all nine innings. German finished his masterpiece up with a tidy 99 pitches.

There are certain times where a pitcher needs to be virtually flawless in order to give their team a chance to win, and that was the case Hernandez punctuated his perfect game in August 2012. The Seattle Mariners only scored one run against the Tampa Bay Rays, and Hernandez needed a superhuman effort to make it stand up. He most certainly delivered.

It took Cain 125 pitches to finish the job against the Houston Astros in 2012, which is the most of any perfect game in MLB history. It’s pretty remarkable that he had the stamina to remain in the game after battling the Astros lineup, and the control not to give up a walk. Cain’s San Francisco Giants scored 10 runs that day, which possibly gave Cain the breather he needed in the dugout.

In addition to Cain and Hernandez’s 2012 gems, Humber also threw a perfect game in April of that season. He dominated the Mariners in 96 pitches. Humber’s final line included nine strikeouts as well. This performance was a surprise coming from Humber, as he finished his eight-year major league career with a 5.31 ERA.

He spent a lot of his stellar career under the radar with the Toronto Blue Jays, but Halladay would show the world just how talented he was with the Philadelphia Phillies. That coming-out party included a perfect game in May 2010, where he struck out 11 Florida Marlins hitters. Halladay would also throw a no-hitter for Philadelphia in the postseason.

Braden only pitched five seasons in the major leagues, but he certainly had a game for the ages in May 2010. It just so happened to be Mother’s Day, and the Oakland Athletics lefthander was about to make his extremely proud. He threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays at home, as Oakland went on to win 4-0.

Unfortunately, the Rays found themselves at the scene of another perfect game the year before. This time, their struggles at the plate came at the hands of Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle. He was the type of player who was hard to throw off once he found his rhythm, as Buerhle worked quickly in each of his starts. He certainly wouldn’t need a pitch clock had he played today.

Johnson was a thorn in hitters’ side for a long time, and his perfect game came well after the prime of his career. He still had a lot of talent in his later years, as the Atlanta Braves witnessed firsthand in May 2004. The Big Unit, as he was known on the mound, struck out 13 Atlanta hitters en route to his historic achievement.

Pitchers are creatures of habit, and do not like to be interrupted when they’ve started their routine. Cone’s perfect game in July 1999 was pretty amazing considering that the contest included a 33-minute rain delay. A pause that lengthy can sometimes spell the end of a pitcher’s day, but manager Joe Torre was handsomely rewarded by leaving Cone in the game.

The context of this perfect game is one of the more amusing pre-cursors to a great performance. Wells confirmed to the public years after his 1998 perfect game against the Minnesota Twins that he was extremely hungover for that outing. He had been partying with celebrities the evening before, which makes the event even more remarkable for some fans.

Rogers was never known to have a powerful arm even as a young pitcher. He would tend to get outs by throwing the right pitch at the right time, in the right location. His execution was certainly on point in July 1994, as he befuddled California Angels batters in front of the home fans. Texas would win the game 4-0.

The now-defunct Montreal Expos had some notable moments during their existence, and one of those instances came in July 1991. Dennis Martinez pitched to contact against the Los Angeles Dodgers that day, and recorded the only perfect game in franchise history. He accomplished the feat on the road in Southern California.

The Cincinnati Reds of the late 1980’s were known for having a shutdown bullpen, but relief pitchers were not needed in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers in September 1988. Starter Tom Browning had everything under control, twirling a perfect game on exactly 100 pitches. The Reds squeaked out a 1-0 victory thanks to Browning’s superb performance.

It can be tempting to play out the string in late September during a long 162-game season, but Mike Witt of the California Angels wasn’t about to go into the offseason quietly. He pitched a doozy of a perfect game against the Texas Rangers in one of the final games of the season, striking out 10 hitters on his way to history.

May 15, 1981 is a day that Barker will never forget. He retired all 27 Toronto Blue Jays hitters in front of his home fans. The Cleveland Indians would win the game 3-0, thanks to Barker’s efforts. He threw 103 pitches that day and fanned 11 Blue Jays hitters. He spent the majority of his MLB career with Cleveland, but also spent three years each with the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers.

If a perfect game is pitched in a relatively empty stadium, do the celebrations make a sound? Hunter’s bid for perfection was only viewed by over 6,000 fans in Oakland in May 1968, although many more likely claim to have been in attendance. The Athletics would defeat the Minnesota Twins 4-0 behind Hunter’s brilliant performance.

It’s no surprise to find one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history on this list, distinguishing himself in ways only Koufax could. He holds the record for most strikeouts in a perfect game with 14, as he was in control from start to finish against the Chicago Cubs in September 1965. It can be argued that this was just a small footnote in one of the best MLB careers of all time.

The future politician had the vote of New York Mets hitters in June 1964, as Bunning left no doubt about who the star of the game was that day. The Philadelphia Phillies ace took it to their division rivals at Shea Stadium. His performance came in the first game of a doubleheader, which is the most impactful way to start a twin-bill.

It’s perhaps the most famous perfect game in MLB history, considering that Larsen accomplished the feat during Game 5 of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. There’s no minimizing what the New York Yankees hurler did that day, as he stepped up about as much as anyone could on the big stage in 1956.

We have to go back all the way to 1922 after Larsen’s gem to find the previous perfect game, twirled by Robertson for the Chicago White Sox. Things were a little bit different in that day and age, as games only had two umpires, and were routinely completed in under two hours. Robertson helped the White Sox defeat the Detroit Tigers 2-0.

In terms of recorded pitch counts for perfect games, Joss’ day in October 1908 ranks as the most efficient. He only threw 74 pitches, and struck out just three hitters. That means the Chicago White Sox hitters were looking to do damage very early in the count, but could not capitalize. Joss’ Cleveland Naps won the contest by a final score of 1-0.

Cy Young awards are the most coveted awards for pitchers, so it makes sense that the man himself would have thrown a perfect game. His special day came in May 1904, as the legendary pitcher stifled the Philadelphia Athletics. The Boston Americans capitalized on Young’s outing, winning 3-0 at Huntington Avenue Grounds.

There were two more perfect games pitched in MLB history, which ironically took place within five days of each other in 1880. The latter was authored by Ward, who powered the Providence Grays to a 5-0 triumph over the Buffalo Bisons. Ward struck out five Bisons hitters on the day at Messer Street Grounds.

The first recorded perfect game in baseball history took place on June 12, 1880 at Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds. Richmond had it all working that day, as he shutout the Cleveland Blues 1-0. The Worcester Worcesters(yes, that was their actual name), rallied around Richmond’s show on the mound that day. Foghorn Bradley was the umpire behind the plate.