Perfect Games by Pitchers : Perfect Game Box Scores, Perfect Game Stats, Perfect Game Pitchers and more by Baseball Almanac

Perfect Games

Words alone cannot describe pitching's top "club" and most desired goal — the masterpiece of any career, the pinnacle of the pitching aspect and one of the most difficult feats to achieve in the entire game of baseball is the perfect game.

What is a perfect game in baseball? Author Paul Dickson in The New Baseball Dictionary (1999) describes it best with, "A no-hitter in which no opposing player reaches first base, either by a base hit, base on balls, hit batter, or fielding error; i.e., the pitcher or pitchers retire all twenty-seven opposing batters in order."

"The sun don't shine on the same dog's ass all the time." - Perfect Game Club Member & Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter (commenting on why he was not able to pitch another perfect game) in When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!: Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes (Hyperion Publishing, 05/22/2002, Yogi Berra, Dave Kaplan, Page 18)

American League Perfect Games Official American League Perfect Games
Pitcher ^(Age)	Date / Box ^(Order)	Match-Up					Attendance	Time
Cy Young ^(37y1m7d)	05-05-1904 ⁽⁰³⁾	Boston	3	vs	Philadelphia	0	10,267	1:23
Addie Joss ^(28y5m20d)	10-02-1908 ⁽⁰⁴⁾	Cleveland	1	vs	Chicago	0	10,598	1:29
Charlie Robertson ^(26y3m)	04-30-1922 ⁽⁰⁵⁾	Chicago	2	at	Detroit	0	25,000	1:55
Don Larsen ^(27y2m1d)	10-08-1956 ⁽⁰⁶⁾	New York	2	vs	Brooklyn	0	64,519	2:06
Catfish Hunter ^(22y1m)	05-08-1968 ⁽⁰⁹⁾	Oakland	4	vs	Minnesota	0	6,298	2:28
Len Barker ^(25y10m8d)	05-15-1981 ⁽¹⁰⁾	Cleveland	3	vs	Toronto	0	7,290	2:09
Mike Witt ^(24y2m10d)	09-30-1984 ⁽¹¹⁾	California	1	at	Texas	0	8,375	1:49
Kenny Rogers ^(29y8m18d)	07-28-1994 ⁽¹⁴⁾	Texas	4	vs	California	0	45,581	2:08
David Wells ^(34y11m27d)	05-17-1998 ⁽¹⁵⁾	New York	4	vs	Minnesota	0	49,820	2:40
David Cone ^(36y6m16d)	07-18-1999 ⁽¹⁶⁾	New York	6	vs	Montreal	0	41,930	2:16
Mark Buehrle ^(29y4m)	07-23-2009 ⁽¹⁸⁾	Chicago	5	vs	Tampa Bay	0	28,036	2:03
Dallas Braden ^(26y9m26d)	05-09-2010 ⁽¹⁹⁾	Oakland	4	vs	Tampa Bay	0	12,228	2:07
Pitcher ^(Age)	Date / Box ^(Order)	Match-Up					Attendance	Time
National League Perfect Games Official National League Perfect Games
Pitcher ^(Age)	Date / Box ^(Order)	Match-Up					Attendance	Time
Lee Richmond ^(23y1m7d)	06-12-1880 ⁽⁰¹⁾	Worcester	1	vs	Cleveland	0	uk	1:26
John Ward ^(20y3m14d)	06-17-1880 ⁽⁰²⁾	Providence	5	vs	Buffalo	0	uk	uk
Jim Bunning ^(32y7m29d)	06-21-1964 ⁽⁰⁷⁾	Philadelphia	6	at	New York	0	32,026	2:19
Sandy Koufax ^(29y8m10d)	09-09-1965 ⁽⁰⁸⁾	Los Angeles	1	vs	Chicago	0	29,139	1:43
Tom Browning ^(28y4m19d)	09-16-1988 ⁽¹²⁾	Cincinnati	1	vs	Los Angeles	0	16,591	1:51
Dennis Martinez ^(36y2m14d)	07-28-1991 ⁽¹³⁾	Montreal	2	at	Los Angeles	0	45,560	2:14
Randy Johnson ^(40y8m8d)	05-18-2004 ⁽¹⁷⁾	Arizona	2	at	Atlanta	0	23,381	2:13
Roy Halladay ^(33y15d)	05-29-2010 ⁽²⁰⁾	Philadelphia	1	at	Florida	0	25,086	2:13
Pitcher ^(Age)	Date / Box ^(Order)	Match-Up					Attendance	Time
Perfect Game Club

"Un-Official" Perfect Games (Did Not Meet Criteria Set Forth by MLB) Photo of Out #27 / The Blown Call (Source: Fox Sports) Blown Call
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
Armando Galarraga	06-02-2010	Detroit	3	vs	Cleveland	0	Jim Joyce Blown Call
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
"Un-Official" Perfect Games (Did Not Meet Criteria Set Forth by MLB) Broken Up In Extra Innings
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
Harvey Haddix	05-26-1959	Pittsburgh	0	at	Milwaukee	1	E, BB & H In 13th
Pedro Martinez	06-03-1995	Montreal	1	at	San Diego	0	H In 10th
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
"Un-Official" Perfect Games (Did Not Meet Criteria Set Forth by MLB) Less Than Nine Innings
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
Rube Vickers	10-05-1907	Philadelphia	4	at	Washington	0	5 Innings
Dean Chance	08-06-1967	Minnesota	2	vs	Boston	0	5 Innings
"Un-Official" Perfect Games (Did Not Meet Criteria Set Forth by MLB) Less Than Nine Innings
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
Ed Karger	08-11-1907	St. Louis	4	vs	Boston	0	7 Innings
David Palmer	04-21-1984	Montreal	4	at	St. Louis	0	5 Innings
Name	Date / Box Score	Match Up					Notes
"Un-Official" Perfect Game Club

Did you know that Charlie Robertson was the first pitcher to throw a perfect game while pitching on the road? Too easy you say? How about KNOWN pitch counts from perfect games in descending order:

Perfect Game Pitch Counts

Pitcher	Pitches Thrown
David Wells	120
Randy Johnson	117
Mark Buehrle	116
Roy Halladay	115
Sandy Koufax	113
Dallas Braden	109
Catfish Hunter	107
Len Barker	103
Tom Browning	102
Kenny Rogers	98
Don Larsen	97
Dennis Martinez	95
Mike Witt	94
Jim Bunning	90
Charlie Robertson	90
David Cone	88
Addie Joss	74

Don Larsen's gem during the 1956 World Series was the first and only perfect game to occur during the postseason / World Series AND the entire box score is here on Baseball Almanac.

Harvey Haddix (the Pedro Martinez performance occurred after the 1991 ruling) pitched perfectly for nine-plus innings only to lose his perfect game during the late innings. For years the game was considered a perfect game until Major League Baseball redefined the rule in respect to what defines a no-hitter and perfect game.

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