The Perfect Game

What you may not have known about this exclusive MLB club

Only a handful of occurrences in Major League Baseball are rarer than the perfect game. 27 batters up, 27 batters down. No runs, no baserunners, no bases on balls, no hit batsmen, no hits. Perfection.

In the history of the MLB, between 1901 and 2024, 209,140 games were played. 418,280 opportunities for a pitcher to craft a perfect game. Only happened 22 times in the modern era. Thus, the chances of a perfect game in any given game are 0.00526%.

Unlike a few of MLB’s other clubs of achievement, the exclusive Perfect Game Club is not only populated with the requisite selection of Hall of Fame hurlers, but also features a generous helping of unidistinguished journeymen and one-hit wonders.

May the journey of exploration of The Perfect Game Club commence!

• 15 righthanders and 7 lefthanders comprise the group.

• 7 of the Perfect Game Club members are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

  • Addie Joss

  • Catfish Hunter

  • Cy Young

  • Jim Bunning

  • Randy Johnson

  • Roy Halladay

  • Sandy Koufax

• The youngest? Catfish Hunter was 22 years old when the Athletics’ righthander fashioned a perfect game against the Twins in Oakland’s first season at the Coliseum on May 8, 1968.

• The oldest? Randy Johnson tipped 40 years of age when the intimidating southpaw shut down the Braves at Turner Field in Atlanta on May 18, 2004.

• Average age? 29.7 years

• Three of the pitchers were 26

  • Charlie Robertson

  • Dallas Braden

  • Felix Hernandez

• And three were 29 at the time of their perfect games.

  • Sandy Koufax

  • Kenny Rogers

  • Philip Humber

• Fewest pitches thrown in a perfect game? The sublime Joss needed only 74 pitches and a tidy 1:32 to retire all 27 White Sox in a 1-0 victory for the Cleveland Naps at League Park on October 8, 1908.

• Most pitches thrown in a perfect game? In the Giants’ only franchise perfect game, Matt Cain tossed 125 pitches to set down 27 Astros in San Francisco’s 10-0 win over Houston on June 13, 2012.

• The average number of pitches for 21 of the perfect games (Cy Young’s total is not available) is 103.

• Sandy Koufax and Matt Cain struck out the most batters in their perfect games, each notching 14 Ks.

• 4 pitchers struck out 11 batters in their perfect games.

  • Catfish Hunter

  • David Wells

  • Len Barker

  • Roy Halladay

• Most frequent score? 1-0, six times.

  • Addie Joss, October 8, 1908, Cleveland over White Sox

  • Sandy Koufax, September 9, 1965, Dodgers over Cubs

  • Mike Witt, September 30, 1984, Angels over Rangers

  • Tom Browning, September 16, 1988, Reds over Dodgers

  • Roy Halladay, May 29, 2010, Phillies over Marlins

  • Felix Hernandez, August 15, 2012, Mariners over Rays

• Seven of the perfect game artists enjoyed at least one more no-hitter.

  • Addie Joss, April 20, 1910, Cleveland versus the White Sox

  • Cy Young, June 30, 1908, Red Sox versus Yankees. The namesake of the pitching award also crafted a no-hitter pitching for Cleveland on September 18, 1897, against Boston.

  • Jim Bunning, July 20, 1958, pitching for Detroit against Boston. Coincidentally, both of the future U.S. Congressman’s no-hitters were in the first games of doubleheaders.

  • Mark Buehrle, April 18, 2007, White Sox versus Texas

  • Randy Johnson, June 2,, 1990, Seattle versus Detroit

  • Roy Halladay, October 6, 2010, Phillies versus Cincinnati in the post-season

  • Sandy Koufax, June 30, 1962, Dodgers versus Mets; May 11, 1963, Dodgers versus Giants; June 4, 1964, Dodgers versus Phillies

Source: Wikimedia Commons

• The Yankees have been the beneficiary of the most perfect games with 4.

  • Don Larsen, October 8, 1956, Dodgers, Game 5 of the World Series. In 1998, Larsen recalled, "I had great control. I never had that kind of control in my life."

  • David Wells, May 17, 1998, Twins

  • David Cone, July 18, 1999, Expos

  • Domingo German, June 28, 2023, Athletics
    Something about the Yankees and first names beginning with the letter D…

• The White Sox are the only other franchise with at least three perfect games.

  • Charlie Robertson, April 30, 1922, Tigers

  • Mark Buehrle, July 23, 2009, Rays

  • Philip Humber, April 21, 2012, Mariners

• Despite being MLB’s newest team (along with Arizona), the Rays have been the victim of three perfect games.

  • Mark Buehrle, July 23, 2009, White Sox

  • Dallas Braden, May 9, 2010, Athletics

  • Felix Hernandez, August 15, 2012, Mariners

• The Dodgers are the only other franchise that has been on the losing end of three perfect games.

  • Don Larsen, October 8, 1956, Dodgers, Game 5 of the World Series

  • Tom Browning, September 16, 1988, Reds

  • Dennis Martinez, July 28, 1991, Expos

• 16 MLB franchises have not thrown a perfect game.

  • Legacy: Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, Pirates, Tigers

  • Expansion: Angels, Astros, Blue Jays, Brewers, Marlins, Mets, Rays, Royals, Padres, Rockies, Twins

• 14 MLB franchises have not been the victim of a perfect game.

  • Legacy: Cardinals, Giants, Guardians, Orioles, Pirates, Phillies, Reds, Red Sox, Yankees

  • Expansion: Brewers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies, Royals

• 6 MLB franchises not been involved in a perfect game.

  • Legacy: Cardinals, Pirates

  • Expansion: Brewers, Padres, Rockies, Royals

• Most career wins? Cy Young, 511

• Fewest career wins? Philip Humber, 16. The Rice University product pitched for 5 MLB teams in 8 seasons, enjoying limited success but, one brilliant moment. The righthander finished 2012 with a 5-5 record, a 6.44 ERA, and a 1.539 WHIP. After starting 0-8 with Houston in 2013 with a 7.90 ERA, and a 1.738 WHIP, he was out of baseball.

  

  Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

• 6 of the 22 pitchers finished with losing records in their careers.

  • Charlie Robertson, 49-80

  • Dallas Braden, 26-36

  • Don Larsen, 81-91

  • Len Barker, 74-76

  • Matt Cain, 104-118

  • Philip Humber, 16-23

• Most runs scored in a perfect game? Buoyed by a 6-run fifth inning, the Yankees supported Domingo German’s gem with 11 runs, the highest offensive plate production in a perfect game.

• Average number of runs scored in a perfect game? 3.5

• Most days between MLB perfect games? 12,580
  After Charlie Robertson’s perfecto on April 30, 1922, more than 34 years elapsed before Don Larsen’s stunning achievement on October 8, 1956 in game 5 of the World Series.

• Fewest days between MLB perfect games? 20
  Dallas Braden crafted a perfect game for the Athletics against the Rays on May 9, 2010. Only 20 days elapsed before Roy Halladay for the Phillies spun the 18th since 1901 against Florida’s other MLB outlet, the Marlins.

• 3 of the 22 perfect games since 1901 were completed in the span of 116 days in 2012.

  • Philip Humber, April 21, 2012, White Sox versus Mariners

  • Matt Cain, June 13, 2012, Giants versus Astros

  • Felix Hernandez, August 15, 2012, Mariners over Rays

• Most frequent month for perfect games? Almost 33%—7—of the perfect games were completed in May.

  • Cy Young, May 5, 1904 Red Sox against Athletics

  • Catfish Hunter, May 8, 1968, Athletics against Twins

  • Len Barker, May 15, 1981, Cleveland against Blue Jays

  • David Wells, May 17, 1998, Yankees against Twins

  • Randy Johnson, May 18, 2004 Diamondbacks against Braves

  • Roy Halladay, May 29, 2010, Phillies against Marlins

Source: Wikimedia Commons

• Worst career winning percentage? .380, Charlie Robertson, 49-80. In 8 MLB seasons between 1919 and 1928, the 6’, 175 lbs. righthander never enjoyed a winning season while pitching for the White Sox, Braves, and Browns. His career ERA of 4.44 and WHIP of 1.518 reflect his mediocrity.

• Two stadia were the sites of three perfect games.

  • Yankee Stadium

    • Don Larsen, October 8, 1956, Yankees against Dodgers

    • David Wells, May 17, 1998, Yankess against Twins

    • David Cone, July 18, 1999, Yankess against Expos

  • Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

    • Catfish Hunter, May 8, 1968, Athletics against Twins

    • Dallas Braden, May 9, 2010, Athletics against Rays

    • Domingo German, June 28, 2023, Yankees against Athletics

• Of the 16 stadia where perfect games have been completed, only four remain in use by MLB teams.

  • Safeco Field

  • Dodger Stadium

  • Oracle Park

  • U.S. Cellular Field

• The 12 demolished or no longer used stadia:

  • Yankee Stadium (classic), New York, NY

  • Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, CA

  • Sun Life Stadium, Miami, FL

  • Turner Field, Atlanta, GA

  • Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston, MA

  • Shea Stadium, New York, NY

  • League Park, Cleveland, OH

  • The Ballpark in Arlington, TX

  • Navin Field, Detroit, MI (Tiger Stadium)

  • Arlington Stadium, TX

  • Cleveland Stadium, OH

  • Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, OH

Etched in the records books for infinity, whether Hall of Famer, unremarkable journeyman, or one-hit wonder, the numbers and factoids illuminate a fascinating story of the select group of pitchers—The Perfect Game Club!

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