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." Research by Baseball Almanac.
"The sun don't shine on the same dog's ass all the time." - Hunter, Catfish. Perfect Game Club Pitcher / Hall of Fame Pitcher. Answer to reporter asking why he was not able to pitch another perfect game. When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!: Inspiration and Wisdom from One of Baseball's Greatest Heroes. Hyperion Publishing. Kaplan, Dave. Author. 22 May 2002. Page 18.
American League Perfect GamesOfficial American League Perfect Games |
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AL | MLB | Pitcher | Age | Date | Box | Match-Up | Att. | Time | ||||
1. | 3. | Cy Young | 37.038 | 05-05-1904 | BOS | 3 | vs | PHI | 0 | 10,267 | 1:25 |
2. | 4. | Addie Joss | 28.174 | 10-02-1908 | CLE | 1 | vs | CHI | 0 | 10,598 | 1:29 |
3. | 5. | Charlie Robertson | 26.089 | 04-30-1922 | CHI | 2 | at | DET | 0 | 25,000 | 1:55 |
4. | 6. | Don Larsen | 26.089 | 10-08-1956 | NY | 2 | vs | BRO | 0 | 64,519 | 2:06 |
5. | 9. | Catfish Hunter | 22.031 | 05-08-1968 | OAK | 4 | vs | MIN | 0 | 6,298 | 2:28 |
6. | 10. | Len Barker | 25.312 | 05-15-1981 | CLE | 3 | vs | TOR | 0 | 7,290 | 2:09 |
7. | 11. | Mike Witt | 24.073 | 09-30-1984 | CAL | 1 | at | TEX | 0 | 8,375 | 1:49 |
8. | 14. | Kenny Rogers | 29.260 | 07-28-1994 | TEX | 4 | vs | CAL | 0 | 45,581 | 2:08 |
9. | 15. | David Wells | 34.262 | 05-17-1998 | NY | 4 | vs | MIN | 0 | 49,820 | 2:40 |
10. | 16. | David Cone | 36.197 | 07-18-1999 | NY | 6 | vs | MON | 0 | 41,930 | 2:16 |
11. | 18. |
Mark Buehrle | 30.122 | 07-23-2009 | CHI | 5 | vs | TBR | 0 | 28,036 | 2:03 |
12. | 19. | Dallas Braden | 26.269 | 05-09-2010 | OAK | 4 | vs | TBR | 0 | 12,228 | 2:07 |
13. | 21. | Philip Humber | 29.122 | 04-21-2012 | CHI | 4 | at | SEA | 0 | 22,472 | 2:17 |
14. | 23. | Felix Hernandez | 26.130 | 08-15-2012 | SEA | 1 | vs | TBR | 0 | 21,889 | 2:22 |
15. | 24. | Domingo Germán | 30.328 | 06-28-2023 | NY | 11 | at | OAK | 0 | 12,479 | 2:30 |
AL | MLB | Pitcher | Age | Date | Box | Match-Up | Att. | Time | ||||
National League Perfect GamesOfficial National League Perfect Games |
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NL | MLB | Pitcher | Age | Date | Box | Match-Up | Att. | Time | ||||
1. | 1. | Lee Richmond | 23.039 | 06-12-1880 | WOR | 1 | vs | CLE | 0 | uk | 1:26 |
2. | 2. | John Ward | 20.107 | 06-17-1880 | PRO | 5 | vs | BUF | 0 | uk | uk |
3. | 7. | Jim Bunning | 32.242 | 06-21-1964 | PHI | 6 | at | NY | 0 | 32,026 | 2:19 |
4. | 8. | Sandy Koufax | 29.253 | 09-09-1965 | LA | 1 | vs | CHI | 0 | 29,139 | 1:43 |
5. | 12. | Tom Browning | 28.142 | 09-16-1988 | CIN | 1 | vs | LA | 0 | 16,591 | 1:51 |
6. | 13. | Dennis Martinez | 37.075 | 07-28-1991 | MON | 2 | at | LA | 0 | 45,560 | 2:14 |
7. | 17. | Randy Johnson | 40.251 | 05-18-2004 | ARI | 2 | at | ATL | 0 | 23,381 | 2:13 |
8. | 20. | Roy Halladay | 33.015 | 05-29-2010 | PHI | 1 | at | FLO | 0 | 25,086 | 2:13 |
9. | 22. | Matt Cain | 27.256 | 06-13-2012 | SF | 10 | vs | HOU | 0 | 42,298 | 2:36 |
NL | MLB | Pitcher | Age | Date | Box | Match-Up | Att. | Time | ||||
MLB Perfect Games | Research by Baseball Almanac |
Un-Official Perfect Games | Do Not Meet MLB CriteriaPhoto of Out #27 / The Blown Call (Source: Fox Sports) Blown Call |
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Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Armando Galarraga | 06-02-2010 | DET | 3 | vs | CLE | 0 | Jim Joyce Blown Call |
Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Un-Official Perfect Games | Do Not Meet MLB CriteriaBroken Up In Extra Innings |
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Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Harvey Haddix | 05-26-1959 | PIT | 0 | at | MIL | 1 | E, BB & H In 13th |
Pedro Martinez | 06-03-1995 | MON | 1 | at | SS | 0 | H In 10th |
Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Un-Official Perfect Games | Do Not Meet MLB CriteriaLess Than Nine Innings |
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Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Rube Vickers | 10-05-1907 | PHI | 4 | at | WAS | 0 | 5 Innings |
Dean Chance | 08-06-1967 | MIN | 2 | vs | BOS | 0 | 5 Innings |
Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Un-Official Perfect Games | Do Not Meet MLB CriteriaLess Than Nine Innings |
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Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Ed Karger | 08-11-1907 | StL | 4 | vs | BOS | 0 | 7 Innings |
David Palmer | 04-21-1984 | MON | 4 | at | StL | 0 | 5 Innings |
Name | Date | Box | Match Up | Notes | ||||
Un-Official Perfect Games | Research by Baseball Almanac |
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 as researched by Baseball Almanac:
Perfect Game Pitch Counts | |
Pitcher | # |
Matt Cain | 125 |
David Wells | 120 |
Randy Johnson | 117 |
Mark Buehrle | 116 |
Roy Halladay | 115 |
Felix Hernandez | 113 |
Sandy Koufax | 113 |
Dallas Braden | 109 |
Catfish Hunter | 107 |
Len Barker | 103 |
Tom Browning | 102 |
Domingo Germán | 99 |
Kenny Rogers | 98 |
Don Larsen | 97 |
Philip Humber | 96 |
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, as well as quotes, video, historical data, and more research, is on Baseball Almanac.
Harvey Haddix 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, in 1991, redefined the rule in respect to what defines a no-hitter and perfect game. Four years after the rule change, Pedro Martinez had his "perfect game" lost in the extra-innings as well.