List of Perfect Games

[redsmetz]

Here's the list of all 21 perfect games thrown - perhaps the rarest event in baseball (or close to it).

Funny interesting things to point out - and I welcome others to add things that they see too.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/rare_...e=perfect_game

Only eight of the perfect games have been thrown by NL pitchers.

Larsen's game in the 1956 Series is the only post-season perfect game (as it was the only no-hitter until we were no hit in 2010). Cone's game in 1999 is the only regular season interleague perfecto.

Yesterday's game was the Chisox's 3rd perfect game, most of tying them with the Yankees for the most. Several others have had two thrown.

Only the Dodgers have had three thrown against them.

I haven't looked this up to confirm it, but it looks like six of the pitchers who have done it are Hall of Famers. Certainly Randy Johnson will join that number.

Interesting the length of time between the first games thrown and the next ones. The NL's first were two perfect games in 1880 (the only time that occurred in one league - 2010 saw two games, one in each league), the next NL perfect game didn't come for 84 more years when Jim Bunning threw his. Two in the early years of the AL, then a 14 year gap, followed by 34 years & then another 14 year gap with Hunter's.

I'll leave it to others to mention other points.

[westofyou]

Perfect games have really taken off in the past 20 years, to get one is a match of fielding, swing and miss stuff and all the right breaks

The unassistated triple play is my choice for the rarest of baseball events

With 15 total

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats8.shtml

[dougdirt]

The elimination of astroturf has to be helping somewhat too. It makes it a little tougher to get that groundball through the infield.

[elfmanvt07]

Perfect games have really taken off in the past 20 years, to get one is a match of fielding, swing and miss stuff and all the right breaks

The unassistated triple play is my choice for the rarest of baseball events

With 15 total

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats8.shtml

I was present at Asdrubal Cabrera's.

My father has always been a split Reds/Indians fan. Major League the movie sort of struck him at the right time. In that vein, I've seen several games at the Jake with my pops. We were there that particular night. When something like an unassisted triple play happens, no one really recognizes what it is at first. It's sort of a gradual realization, coupled with a ton of murmuring in the crowd. Cabrera sort of look startled as the runner from first approached him, and tagged the runner sort of suddenly.

I had just purchased my first iPhone (it came out about 6 months prior), and my father wasn't sold on the concept. I saw this event as an opportunity. That first phone was rather slow in its web access over the air. I proceeded to punch up Wikipedia and search "unassisted triple play." By the time I made it to the page, Cabrera's had already been added. It was pretty wild.



EDIT: Consulting Wikipedia just now, I just read that of the fifteen, Indians players have had three. Pretty wild.

[redsmetz]

Perfect games have really taken off in the past 20 years, to get one is a match of fielding, swing and miss stuff and all the right breaks

The unassistated triple play is my choice for the rarest of baseball events

With 15 total

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats8.shtml

This month's Smithsonian Magazine came & they had an article about runs scored in MLB. It mentioned that there have been essentially about 15 Million plate appearances since the advent of the NL league in the 1860's. I commented on this to my wife viz a viz the total number of triple plays - she said immediately that it's one a million times event - which had not occurred to me at all.

[fearofpopvol1]

Perfect games have really taken off in the past 20 years, to get one is a match of fielding, swing and miss stuff and all the right breaks

The unassistated triple play is my choice for the rarest of baseball events

With 15 total

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats8.shtml

I agree, it's a rarer event, but I don't think people remember them as much. A perfect game means that team wins the game. Plus, the unassisted triple play happens so fast. The perfect game is drawn out over 9 innings, so in a way, it's more memorable.

As a sidenote, it is still awesome that Browning is part of history. It's easy to forget about his brilliant performance.

[dabvu2498]

I agree, it's a rarer event, but I don't think people remember them as much. A perfect game means that team wins the game. Plus, the unassisted triple play happens so fast. The perfect game is drawn out over 9 innings, so in a way, it's more memorable.

As a sidenote, it is still awesome that Browning is part of history. It's easy to forget about his brilliant performance.

The wife and I went to the Dragons game last night. We had the perfect game on the radio and parked right as he recorded the last out. My wife was struck that there had only been 20 in the history of the game. Then we walk into the park and there's Mr. Browning.

[KronoRed]

Interesting that 8 of the AL's have come since the introduction of the DH.