Friday, June 30, 2023

The 24 Major League Pitchers to Have Pitched a Perfect Game, In Perspective

With Domingo Germán having pitched a perfect game on Wednesday night, this is a good occasion on which to look back at previous perfect pitching performances.

A shutout is a complete game pitched without allowing any runs. A no-hitter is a complete game pitched without allowing any hits, although allowing a run is still possible. A perfect game is a complete game pitched without allowing any baserunners: 27 men up, 27 men down. All 9 players in the lineup go up 3 times, and none of them reach base on any occasion. A perfect game is also a no-hitter and a shutout.

1. Lee Richmond, Oberlin, Ohio (outside Cleveland), 1857-1929, lefthanded, Worcester Brown Stockings, caught by Charlie Bennett, against the Cleveland Blues, winning 1-0, at the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds in Worcester, Massachusetts, outside Boston, on June 12, 1880.

Like the world at large, baseball was very different then, in particular because of pitching. For one thing, it really was "pitching," underhanded, not "throwing," overhanded. You've heard the expression of the pitcher being "knocked out of the box"? Well, in those days, there was no pitcher's mound, just a chalked off box, the center of which was 45 feet from home plate.

The Brown Stockings moved in 1883, becoming the Philadelphia Phillies. The Blues went out of business after the 1884 season. Charlie Bennett would help the Detroit Wolverines win the National League Pennant in 1887, then lose his legs in a train accident, but would still catch the ceremonial first ball on every Opening Day in Detroit until his death in 1927.

In 1896, Detroit's new ballpark was named Bennett Park for him. In the 1911-12 off-season, it was torn down, and a new ballpark was built on the site, named Navin Field for the Tigers' owner, Frank Navin. Bennett was still invited back. The ballpark would later be renamed Tiger Stadium.

2. John Montgomery Ward, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, 1860-1925, righthanded, Providence Grays, caught by Emil Gross, against the Buffalo Bisons, winning 5-0, at the Messer Street Grounds in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 17, 1880, just 5 days after Richmond's perfecto.

At 20, "Monte" Ward remains the youngest pitcher ever to throw a perfect game in the major leagues, and the only one to later switch to another position, playing mostly shortstop, but also frequently 2nd base. He won the National League Pennant with the New York Giants in 1888 and 1889, and was the leading figure in the Players' League of 1890. In spite of this blatant act of betrayal of the team owners, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Grays and the Bisons both went out of business after the 1885 season -- and played their last game against each other.

In 1881, the pitching distance was moved back to 50 feet. In 1884, overhand throwing was made legal. In 1887, a new rule meant that pitchers had to have their back foot in contact with the back line of the pitcher's box, which was 5 1/2 feet behind the front line. That meant the distance was now 55 feet, 6 inches from home plate. In 1893, the box was converted into a raised mound of dirt, usually around 15 inches high (but not yet mandated as such), and was moved back another 5 feet, to the current 60 feet, 6 inches.

So that's where the extra 6 inches, which looks so odd next to an otherwise round number, came from. There was an urban legend that a groundskeeper misread "60 feet, 0 inches" "60 feet, 6 inches," and it stuck. But it's not true.

3. Denton True Young, Gilmore, Ohio, 1867-1955, righthanded, Boston Americans, caught by Lou Criger, against the Philadelphia Athletics, winning 3-0, at the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston, Massachusetts, on May 5, 1904.

Cy Young -- shortened from "Cyclone," for his fastball -- was the 1st pitcher to pitch a no-hitter under the 60-and-6 distance. It was the 2nd of 3 no-hitters he would throw. He reached the major leagues in 1890, and was one of the few pitchers to be great both before and after the mound was moved back in 1893.

He had helped the Americans win the 1st World Series the season before, and would help them win the American League Pennant again, but the New York Giants refused to play them in a World Series. The 1904 season was also the year that the height of the mound was standardized at 15 inches. The Americans changed their name to the Red Sox in 1907.

Young won 511 games, more than any other pitcher. He also lost more than any player, and pitched more innings, and faced more batters, and so on. He was the 3rd pitcher elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, after Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson; and was named to the All-Century Team in 1999, 88 years after his last game. The award for the best pitcher in each League is named the Cy Young Award.

4. Adrian Joss (no middle name), Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 1880-1911, righthanded, Cleveland Naps, caught by Nig Clarke, against the Chicago White Sox, winning 1-0, at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio, on October 2, 1908.

I have to address the names. The former Cleveland Blues renamed themselves after acquiring superstar 2nd baseman Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, and naming themselves the Naps until he left following the 1914 season. They then became the Cleveland Indians, and became the Cleveland Guardians in 2022.

And Jay Justin Clarke, like an earlier Cleveland player, pitcher George Cuppy, was a white man who had a complexion dark enough that he was nicknamed "Nig." It's disgusting, but it's true.

"Addie" Joss needed that perfect game, because the Naps, the Chicago White Sox, and the Detroit Tigers were in a tight 3-way race for the Pennant; and Big Ed Walsh struck out 15 batters in the same game. In the end, neither team won the Pennant: The Tigers did.

Joss died of meningitis, 2 days after his 31st birthday, just before the start of the 1911 season, which would have been his 10th season in the major leagues. For that reason, he did not meet the eligibility requirement for the Hall of Fame. In 1978, no longer able to ignore that he had the lowest WHIP in history, 0.968 (Walsh was 2nd, at 1.000), and the 2nd-lowest ERA, 1.88 (Walsh was 1st, at 1.82), and accepting that he almost made it to a 10th season, and it wasn't his fault that he didn't, and that 1 game in it would have qualified him, the rule of at least 10 seasons was set aside for him, and he was elected. The Indians honored him in their team Hall of Fame.

Interlude: Ernest Grady Shore, East Bend, North Carolina, 1891-1980, righthanded, Boston Red Sox, caught by Sam Agnew, against the Washington Senators, winning 4-0, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts.

Shore did not start this game. Come to think of it, neither did Agnew. Babe Ruth was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and, to start the game, he faced Ray Morgan. Home plate umpire Clarence "Brick" Owens called ball 4 and put Morgan on 1st base. Ruth was so incensed that he punched Owens. Owens threw Ruth out of the game, and threw starting catcher Chester "Pinch" Thomas out, too.

Ruth was replaced by Shore, and Thomas by Agnew. Shore immediately picked Morgan off 1st, and then retired the next 26 batters in a row. Since he had retired 27 straight, Shore was given credit for a perfect game, until a 1991 ruling by Major League Baseball that Shore hadn't pitched a complete game, therefore he couldn't get credit for a perfect game or a no-hitter.

Shore pitched for the Red Sox when they won the 1915 and 1916 World Series, but was already in the service during the 1918 edition, as America had fully joined World War I.

5. Charles Culbertson Robertson, Nocona, Texas (outside Dallas), 1896-1984, righthanded, Chicago White Sox, caught by Ray Schalk, against the Detroit Tigers, winning 2-0, at Navin Field, Detroit Michigan, on April 30, 1922.

This was the 1st perfect game pitched in the post-1920 Lively Ball Era. Charlie Robertson was the 1st perfect game pitcher to be overshadowed by his catcher: At 49-80, with a .380 winning percentage, he is the least accomplished player on this list. Schalk is now generally regarded to have been elected to the Hall of Fame not so much because he was a great defensive catcher, although he was, but because he was a member of the 1919 White Sox team that wasn't in on the fix of the World Series. For many fans, if they had to drop one player from the Hall's ranks, he's the one.

6. Don James Larsen, "Gooney Bird," San Diego, California, 1929-2020, righthanded, Number 18, with Yogi Berra catching, against the Brooklyn Dodgers, in Game 5 of the World Series, at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees winning, 2-0, on October 8, 1956.

This was the 1st perfect game broadcast on radio, let alone on television; the 1st pitched with a black player on the winning side, and the 1st with one on the losing side; and the 1st pitched by a pitcher wearing a uniform number.

It was also the 1st no-hitter in postseason history, and while it is no longer the only one, or even the only one in World Series history, it remains the only perfect game in postseason history. Or, as Yogi put it, as only he could, "It's never been done before, and it still hasn't."

Larsen won the 1956 and 1958 World Series with the Yankees, losing in 1955 and 1957, and also lost to the Yankees with the San Francisco Giants in the 1962 World Series.

Interlude: Harvey Haddix (no middle name), South Vienna, Ohio (outside Columbus), 1925-1994, lefthanded, Number 31, Pittsburgh Pirates, caught by Smoky Burgess, against the Milwaukee Braves, at Milwaukee County Stadium, on May 26, 1959. Haddix is the only pitcher ever to pitch a perfect game into extra innings, and he kept it going for 12 innings: 36 men up, 36 men down.

But Lew Burdette of the Braves also had a shutout going, and he kept it going through the top of the 13th. In the bottom of the 13th, Pirate 3rd baseman Don Hoak made an error on a grounder hit by Félix Mantilla. The perfect game was off, but the no-hitter was still on. Eddie Mathews bunted Mantilla over to 2nd base. Hank Aaron was walked intentionally to set up the inning-ending double play. But Joe Adcock hit a game-winning home run. Except Aaron walked off the field without scoring, so Adcock was declared out for passing him, so what should have been a 3-0 Braves win was ruled a 1-0 win.

A 1991 ruling by Major League Baseball determined that, since Haddix lost the game, he would no longer receive credit for a no-hitter and a perfect game. He got robbed: He may not have finished the game, but did 27 up, 27 down. He should have gotten the credit.

7. James Paul David Bunning, Southgate, Kentucky (near Cincinnati), 1931-2017, righthanded, Number 14, Philadelphia Phillies, caught by Gus Triandos, against the New York Mets, winning 6-0, at Shea Stadium, on June 21, 1964.

Jim Bunning had previously pitched a no-hitter with the Detroit Tigers in 1958. This made him the 2nd pitcher, after Cy Young, to pitch a no-hitter in each League. It was Father's Day, and Bunning already had 6 children, and would eventually have 9.

The Phillies retired his number, and elected him to the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame. He was elected to 9 All-Star Games, to the Baseball Hall of Fame -- and to each house of Congress, as a Republican from Kentucky. It should be noted that his conservatism was known when he was elected, which should, but won't shut up the people whining about Curt Schilling not being elected.

8. Sanford Koufax (no middle name, born Sanford Braun), Brooklyn, New York, born in 1935, lefthanded, Number 32, Los Angeles Dodgers, caught by Jeff Torborg, against the Chicago Cubs, winning 1-0, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on September 9, 1965.

This was the 4th and last no-hitter for Sandy Koufax, "The Left Arm of God." The opposing pitcher, Bob Hendley, allowed only 1 hit, so this game set a record that still stands for fewest hits by both teams combined in a single game.

Koufax had helped the Dodgers win the World Series in 1959 and 1963, and would do so again in 1965, and win another Pennant in 1966. He appeared in 7 All-Star Games. The Dodgers retired his number, and, due to his early retirement, he was, at 36, the youngest person ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

9. James Augustus Hunter, Hertford, North Carolina, 1946-1999, righthanded, Oakland Athletics, Number 27, caught by Jim Pagliaroni, against the Minnesota Twins, winning 4-0, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California, on May 8, 1968.

Jim Hunter already had the nickname "Catfish," but he didn't yet have the mustache. He helped the A's win the World Series in 1972, 1973 and 1974, and the Yankees win it in 1977 and 1978, losing the World Series in 1976. He reached 8 All-Star Games. The A's retired his number (he wore 29 with the Yankees), and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Interlude: Milton Stephen Pappas, Detroit, Michigan, 1939-2016, righthanded, Chicago Cubs, Number 32, caught by Randy Hundley, against the San Diego Padres, winning 8-0, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, on September 2, 1972.

Pappas was 1 strike away from a perfect game, and had a full count on to pinch-hitter Larry Stahl, and seemed to have gotten a called 3rd strike. But home plate umpire Bruce Froemming called ball four. The instant replay showed that Froemming was wrong. Pappas then got Garry Jestadt to pop up, so he kept the no-hitter, but lost a perfect game on an obviously wrong call.

After the game, Pappas tried to reason with Froemming, pointing out that only 9 home-plate umpires had ever called a perfect game, and that he could have been only the 10th. Froemming said, "Milt, if I'd called that pitch a strike, I never would have been able to live with myself." That's when Pappas lost it, yelling, "How the hell do you live with yourself with all the other lousy calls you make?"

Froemming went on to make many more lousy calls before his retirement in 2007. The following year, a Chicago radio host got both of them on the air, and they still argued it.

10. Leonard Harold Barker, Langhorne, Pennsylvania (outside Philadelphia), born in 1955, righthanded, Cleveland Indians, Number 39, caught by Ron Hassey, against the Toronto Blue Jays, winning 3-0, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, on May 15, 1981.

This was the 1st perfect game pitched after 1968, "The Year of the Pitcher," after which the height of the pitcher's mound was lowered from 15 to 10 inches. It was also the 1st perfect game pitching during my lifetime. Although a sportswriter remarked, "How could it be perfect? It was pitched in Cleveland."

"Large Lenny" was considered a candidate to pitch a no-hitter, but not a perfect game, because he was wild. How wild was he? In a 1978 game, pitching for the Texas Rangers against the Boston Red Sox, he threw one pitch that ended up on the Fenway Park backstop.

11. Michael Atwater Witt, Anaheim, California (outside Los Angeles), born in 1960, righthanded, California Angels, Number 39, caught by Bob Boone, against the Texas Rangers, winning 1-0, at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, on September 30, 1984.

In 1940, Bob Feller pitched a no-hitter in his team's 1st game of the season, but this was the 1st time a pitcher threw one in the last game of the regular season. Since the Angels play their home games in Anaheim, this made Mike Witt the 1st pitcher to pitch a perfect game for his hometown team. He helped them win the AL Western Division title in 1982 and 1986, made 2 All-Star Games, and later pitched for the Yankees.

12. Thomas Leo Browning, Malone, New York, 1960-2022, lefthanded, Cincinnati Reds, Number 32, caught by Jeff Reed, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning 1-0, at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 16, 1988.

Tom Browning helped the Reds win the World Series in 1990, and made the All-Star Game the next season. In 1994, he broke his arm in mid-pitch, and only pitched in 1 more season. The Reds elected him to their team Hall of Fame.

13. José Dennis Martínez Ortiz, Granada, Nicaragua, born 1955, righthanded, Montreal Expos, Number 32, caught by Ron Hassey, against the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning 2-0, at Dodger Stadium, on July 28, 1991. 

This made Dodger Stadium the 1st ballpark to host 2 perfect games, Hassey the 1st catcher to catch 2, and Dennis Martínez (the name he has always used) the 1st Hispanic pitcher, and the 1st pitcher born outside the United States, to pitch a perfect game.

His 245 wins surpassed Juan Marichal as the winningest Hispanic pitcher, but Bartolo Colón surpassed him with 247. "El Presidente" had helped the Baltimore Orioles reach 2 World Series, losing in 1979 and winning in 1983. He appeared in 4 All-Star Games.

14. Kenneth Scott Rogers, Dover, Florida (outside Tampa), born 1964, lefthanded, Texas Rangers, Number 37, caught by Iván Rodríguez, against the the California Angels, winning 4-0, at The Ballpark in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas, on July 28, 1994.

No relation to the country singer also named Kenny Rogers (Kenneth Ray Rogers), but, in line with one of his songs, the pitcher was nicknamed "The Gambler." He made 4 All-Star Games, and the Rangers elected him to their team Hall of Fame. He appeared in the postseason with the Yankees in 1996 (winning the World Series), the New York Mets in 1999, the Minnesota Twins in 2003, and the Detroit Tigers in 2006 (reaching but losing the World Series).

It should be noted that, like a later perfecto pitcher, Domingo Germán, he got caught using illegal "sticky stuff" on the mound -- but not during his perfecto.

15. David Lee Wells, San Diego, California, born in 1963, lefthanded, New York Yankees, Number 33, with Jorge Posada catching, against the Minnesota Twins, winning 4-0, at Yankee Stadium, on May 17, 1998.

"Boomer" claimed to have been hungover when he pitched this game. He appeared in 3 All-Star Games, won the 1992 World Series with the Toronto Blue Jays, lost the 1996 AL Championship Series to the Yankees with the Baltimore Orioles, won the 1998 World Series with the Yankees, lost the 2003 World Series with the Yankees, and also reached the postseason with the 2005 Red Sox, and in 2006 with his hometown San Diego Padres.

He and Larsen both graduated from Point Loma High School in San Diego, both were known for their hard-partying ways, and both pitched perfect games for the Yankees.

16. David Brian Cone, Kansas City, Missouri, born in 1963, righthanded, New York Yankees, Number 36, with Joe Girardi catching, against the Montreal Expos, at Yankee Stadium, winning, 6-0, on July 18, 1999.

The Yankees held Yogi Berra Day, and Larsen threw a ceremonial first pitch that Berra caught. It was the 1st no-hitter ever pitched in an Interleague game. A 5-time All-Star, "Coney" won the 1994 AL Cy Young Award with the Kanas City Royals. He arrived too late to appear with the Mets in the 1986 World Series, but was a member of their 1988 NL Eastern Division Champions. He won the World Series with the Blue Jays in 1992; and with the Yankees in 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000.

17. Randall David Johnson, Livermore, California (outside San Francisco), born in 1963, lefthanded, Arizona Diamondbacks, Number 51, with Robby Hammock catching, against the Atlanta Braves, at Turner Field in Atlanta, Georgia, winning 2-0, on May 18, 2004.

Few pitchers in the post-1968 Ten-Inch Mound Era have been as dominating as Randy Johnson. This was the 2nd no-hitter for the 6-foot-10 "Big Unit," who appeared in 10 All-Star Games, won 5 Cy Young Awards, including in both Leagues, and is the only perfect game pitcher to be a member of both the 300 Wins Club and the 3,000 Strikeouts Club. No lefty has more strikeouts than his 4,875, and, among righthanders, only Nolan Ryan has more. (Ryan pitched 7 no-hitters, but none was a perfect game.)

He reached the postseason with the Seattle Mariners in 1995 and 1997; the Houston Astros in 1998; the Diamondbacks in 2001 (winning the World Series) and 2002; and the Yankees in 2005 and 2006, The Mariners named him to their team Hall of Fame, the Diamondbacks retired his number, and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

18. Mark Alan Buehrle, St. Charles, Missouri (outside St. Louis), born in 1979, lefthanded, Chicago White Sox, Number 56, with Ramón Castro catching, against the Tampa Bay Rays, at U.S. Cellular Field (now Guaranteed Rate Field) in Chicago, winning 5-0, on July 23, 2009.

This was Buehrle's 2nd no-hitter. A 5-time All-Star, he reached the postseason with the ChiSox in 2000, 2005 (winning the World Series) and 2008; and with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 (although he was injured and unavailable for the postseason roster). The White Sox retired his number.

19. Dallas Lee Braden, Stockton, California (outside Sacramento), born in 1983, lefthanded, Oakland Athletics, Number 51, with Landon Powell catching, against the Tampa Bay Rays, at the Oakland Coliseum, winning 4-0, on May 9, 2010.

Braden grew up as an A's fan, so he was the 2nd pitcher, after Mike Witt, to pitch a perfect game for his favorite team. The game was played on Mother's Day. Like David Wells, he claimed to have pitched his gem while hungover. But less than a year later, a shoulder injury meant that he would never pitch again, done at age 27.

20. Harry Leroy Halladay, Arvada, Colorado (outside Denver), 1977-2017, righthanded, Philadelphia Phillies, Number 34, with Carlos Ruiz catching, against the Florida Marlins, at Sun Life Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium) in Miami Gardens, Florida, winning 1-0, on May 29, 2010.

Roy Halladay pitched his perfecto just 20 days after Braden's. Later in the season, he pitched MLB's 2nd postseason no-hitter, against the Cincinnati Reds, in Game 1 of the NL Division Series. He also pitched for the Phillies in the following year's postseason.  Unfortunately, like Addie Joss, "Doc" didn't live for very long after his perfect game, dying in a plane crash only 4 years after his retirement.

The Toronto Blue Jays named him to their team Hall of Fame, the Level of Excellence, and retired his Number 32. The Phillies named him to the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame, and retired his Number 34. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Interlude: Armando Antonio Galarraga Barreto, Cumana, Venezuela, born in 1982, righthanded, Detroit Tigers, Number 58, with Alex Avila catching, against the Cleveland Indians, at Comerica Park in Detroit, winning 3-0, on June 2, 2010.

This one should have counted, but didn't. Armando Galarraga got the 1st 26 batters out. The 27th was Jason Donald, and he grounded to 1st baseman Miguel Cabrera. Galarraga ran over to cover 1st base. Cabrera made the throw, and the instant replay proved that Donald was out. But umpire Jim Joyce called him safe. Under the rules of the time, there was no provision for overturning the call with an instant replay, and so, the perfect game and the no-hitter were ruined.

Joyce had been the 2nd base umpire for Braden's perfect game, just 22 days earlier. Unlike Bruce Froemming, 38 years earlier, Joyce accepted that he blew it: "I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay." Joyce apologized to Galarraga, and was widely praised for accepting his mistake.

21. Philip Gregory Humber, Carthage, Texas, born in 1982, righthanded, Chicago White Sox, Number 41, with A.J. Pierzynski catching, against the Seattle Mariners, at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle, Washington, winning 4-0, on April 21, 2012.

Philip Humber was with the Mets in 2006, and the Minnesota Twins in 2008 and 2009, but did not appear on the postseason roster on any of those occasions. He struggled badly after his perfect game, and last appeared in the major leagues only a year and a half later. He has fewer wins than any other perfect game pitcher, including the still-active Domingo Germán.

22. Matthew Thomas Cain, Germantown, Tennessee (outside Memphis), born in 1984, righthanded, San Francisco Giants, Number 18, with Buster Posey catching, against the Houston Astros, at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco, California, winning 10-0, on June 13, 2012.

Matt Cain was a 3-time All-Star, and he helped the Giants win the 2010 and 2012 World Series. However, "The Horse" was injured midway through the 2014 season, and was unable to be a part of a 3rd Series winner. The Giants elected him to their Wall of Fame.

23. Félix Abraham Hernández García, Valencia, Venezuela, bornin 1986, righthanded, Seattle Mariners, Number 34, with John Jaso catching, against the Tampa Bay Rays, at Safeco Field (now T-Mobile Park) in Seattle, winning 1-0, on August 15, 2012.

Three perfect games in 1 season, when it used to be a rare occurrence. Mariner fans called Hernández "King Felix," even though he never appeared in a single postseason game. He did, however, appear in 6 All-Star Games, and win 2 AL Cy Young Awards.

24. Domingo Germán (no middle name, unusual for a Hispanic person), San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, righthanded, Number 0 (formerly 55), with Kyle Higashioka catching, against the Oakland Athletics, at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, the Yankees winning, 11-0, on June 28, 2023.

Dallas Braden was part of MLB Network's coverage of this game. This makes him the 1st man to pitch a perfect game and broadcast another. David Cone is a member of the Yankees' broadcast staff, but did not broadcast this game.

Richmond, Haddix, Koufax, Browning, Rogers, Wells, Johnson, were lefthanded. The rest were righthanded.

Richmond, Young, Shore, Hunter, Barker, Rogers, Cone, Johnson, Humber were of English descent; Ward, Browning, Wells, Braden, Halladay and Cain, Irish; Robertson and Bunning, Scottish; Joss, Swiss; Larsen, Danish; Haddix, French; Koufax, German Jewish; Pappas, Greek; Witt and Buehrle, German; Martínez, Nicaraguan; Galarraga and Hernandez, Venezuelan; and Germán, Dominican. Although Germán is a black Hispanic, no African-American pitcher has ever pitched a perfect game in the major leagues.

Robertson, Haddix (sort of), Bunning, Witt, Johnson, Halladay, Humber and Germán did it on the road; the rest did it in their home parks.

Ward, Koufax, Barker, Browning were from the Northeastern U.S.; Richmond, Young, Joss, Haddix, Pappas, Cone, Buehrle were from the Midwest; Shore, Robertson, Bunning, Hunter, Humber, Cain, the Southeast; Halladay, from the Rocky Mountains; Larsen, Witt, Wells, Johnson, Braden, the West Coast; Martínez, Galarraga, Hernández and Germán from outside the U.S.

Career wins: Young 511, Johnson 303, Wells 239, Bunning 224, Hunter 224, Rogers 219, Buehrle 214, Pappas 209, Halladay 203, Cone 194, Hernández 169, Koufax 165, Ward 164, Joss 160, Haddix 136, Browning 123, Witt 117, Cain 104, Larsen 81, Richmond 75, Barker 74, Shore 65, Robertson 49, Germán (still active) 31, Braden 26, Galarraga 26, Humber 16.

Ward, Young, Joss, Bunning, Koufax, Hunter, Johnson and Halladay have been elected to the Hall of Fame. However, Richmond, Robertson, Larsen, Barker, Braden, Galarraga, Humber and Cain retired with losing records.

Uniform numbers during their perfect games: Germán 0; Bunning 14; Larsen and Cain 18; Hunter 27; Haddix 31; Koufax, Pappas, Browning and Martínez 32; Wells 33, Halladay and Hernández 34, Cone 36, Rogers 37; Barker and Witt 39; Humber 41, Johnson and Braden 51; Buehrle 56; Galarraga 58.

Koufax, Barker, Witt, Browning, Martínez, Rogers, Wells, Cone, Johnson, Buehrle, Braden, Galarraga, Humber, Cain, Hernández and the still-active Germán are still alive.

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