Immortality can be achieved — at least in baseball.
Major League Baseball is home to all sorts of rare and Herculean feats, but arguably none more legendary than a perfect game. Since 1876 — the first year of what we now know as the National League — there have been over 237,000 baseball games played. Only 24 times has a perfect game been thrown.
Break that down: 0.01 percent of MLB games in the sport’s history have been pure perfection. Only 214 innings of more than 4 million thrown.
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Here’s what you need to know about perfect games, their frequency and other factoids surrounding them:
What is a perfect game in baseball?
A perfect game happens when a starting pitcher faces the minimum amount of batters in a game, which would be 27. No batter can reach base on a hit, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a dropped third strike, an error or otherwise. In its simplest terms: 27 up and 27 down.
By definition, a perfect game also has to go at least nine innings, so weather-shortened games or those that don’t go the full nine for any other reason do not officially count as perfect games.
Difference between no-hitter and perfect game
A perfect game only occurs when the pitcher doesn’t allow a single baserunner in the game, as in 27 batters up and 27 batters retired.
As long as there’s a “0” in the box score next to hits, then it’s a no-hitter. That said, in a no-hitter, hitters are allowed to reach base by walk, hit-by-pitch, error, fielder’s choice and so forth. In a perfect game, no baserunners can reach. Every perfect game is a no-hitter, but not every no-hitter is a perfect game.
Among the more intriguing examples of this is Edwin Jackson’s 2010 no-hitter for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander held his former team, the Rays, without a hit in a 1-0 victory, but he walked eight batters, hit another, and saw one more reach on an error. Far from perfect, but still a no-hitter.
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How many perfect games in MLB history?
In total, there have been 24 perfect games thrown in MLB history. Of the 24 perfect games, 22 have occurred in MLB’s modern era (since 1901). All 24 games have been started and finished by the same pitcher, so unlike some no-hitters, there have been no combined perfect games.
Of the pitchers who have thrown a perfect game, only seven have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, adding a certain element of randomness to who throws perfectos.
Last perfect game
The most recent perfect game was thrown by Yankees starter Domingo German against the Athletics in Oakland on June 28, 2023.
Prior to German’s perfect game, the last perfect game thrown was by Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, twirling a perfecto vs. the Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. That was one of the longest gaps between perfect games in MLB history.
MLB perfect games list
Here’s the complete list of perfect games since 1876, the first year of the National League.
Date
Pitcher
Team
Opponent
Pitches/K
June 12, 1880
Lee Richmond
Worcester Worcesters
Cleveland Blues
NA/5
June 17, 1880
John Mongtomery Ward
Providence Grays
Buffalo Bisons
NA/5
May 5, 1904
Cy Young
Boston Americans
Philadelphia Athletics
NA/8
Oct. 2, 1908
Addie Joss
Cleveland Naps
Chicago White Sox
74/3
April 30, 1922
Charlie Robertson
Chicago White Sox
Detroit Tigers
90/6
Oct. 8, 1956
Don Larsen
New York Yankees
Brooklyn Dodgers
97/7
June 21, 1964
Jim Bunning
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets
90/10
Sept. 9, 1965
Sandy Koufax
Los Angeles Dodgers
Chicago Cubs
113/14
May 8, 1968
Catfish Hunter
Oakland Athletics
Minnesota Twins
107/11
May 15, 1981
Len Barker
Cleveland
Toronto Blue Jays
103/11
Sept. 30, 1984
Mike Witt
California Angels
Texas Rangers
94/10
Sept. 16, 1988
Tom Browning
Cincinnati Reds
Los Angeles Dodgers
100/7
July 28, 1991
Dennis Martinez
Montreal Expos
Los Angeles Dodgers
95/5
July 28, 1994
Kenny Rogers
Texas Rangers
California Angels
98/8
May 17, 1998
David Wells
New York Yankees
Minnesota Twins
120/11
July 18, 1999
David Cone
New York Yankees
Montreal Expos
88/10
May 18, 2004
Randy Johnson
Arizona Diamondbacks
Atlanta Braves
117/13
July 23, 2009
Mark Buehrle
Chicago White Sox
Tampa Bay Rays
116/6
May 9, 2010
Dallas Braden
Oakland Athletics
Tampa Bay Rays
109/6
May 29, 2010
Roy Halladay
Philadelphia Phillies
Florida Marlins
115/11
April 21, 2012
Philip Humber
Chicago White Sox
Seattle Mariners
96/6
June 13, 2012
Matt Cain
San Francisco Giants
Houston Astros
125/14
Aug. 15, 2012
Felix Hernandez
Seattle Mariners
Tampa Bay Rays
113/12
June 28, 2023
Domingo German
New York Yankees
Oakland Athletics
99/9
There are some other notes regarding perfect games:
Most pitches thrown in a perfect game: Matt Cain, 125
Fewest pitches thrown in a perfect game: Addie Joss, 74
Team with most perfect games: New York Yankees (Four)
Most perfect games in a season: Three in 2012 (Philip Humber, Matt Cain, Felix Hernandez)
Teams with most perfect games thrown against: Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays (Three)
Lefty vs. Righty perfect games: 8 LHP vs. 16 RHP
Longest stretch without a perfect game: April 30, 1922 (Charlie Robertson) to October 8, 1956 (Don Larsen)
Postseason perfect games: Don Larsen is the only pitcher to have thrown a perfect game in the postseason, with a perfecto vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
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