The Disappointing History of the Perfect Game

Carlos Zambrano's no-hitter in September made me interested in learning about the history of the no-hitter and the perfect game, and I found some information that not many people know. 

Seventeen pitchers have tossed a perfect game since baseball's inception. Six of these pitchers are currently in the Hall of Fame, and Randy Johnson will join them five years after his retirement. 

Most of the pitchers who have thrown perfect games had either mediocre or dreadful careers.

Lee Richmond, who became the first pitcher to retire all 27 batters in a game in 1880, finished his six-year career with a 75-100 record and a 3.06 ERA. In today's game, an ERA of the likes of Richmond would be Hall of Fame quality; however, the game was different then and a 3.06 ERA was nothing special. 

In 1922, Charlie Robertson tossed the fifth perfect game in baseball's history. The perfect game came in Robertson's best season, where he went 14-15 with a 3.64 ERA. He finished his career with a 49-80 record and a 4.44 ERA. Robertson only struck out three batters per nine innings.

Don Larsen was only a starter for eight of his 14 major-league seasons. In the 1956 World Series, the Yankees' starter became the only pitcher to throw a perfect game in the World Series.

Larsen had a mediocre season in 1956, going 9-11 with a 3.26 ERA. As a Giant, he won 54 games in three seasons as a reliever and finished his career with a 81-91 record and a 3.78 ERA. 

Len Barker was perfect for one game in 1981. Other than that one occasion, he was a miserable pitcher. After playing 11 seasons with four different teams, Barker possessed a 74-76 record and a 4.34 ERA. Those numbers make it easy to forget that he was once perfect.

Mike Witt finished his 12-year career with a 117-116 record and a 3.83 ERA. Witt tossed a perfect game in 1984 but spent most of his seasons under the .500 mark. 

David Cone completed his perfect game 14 months and one day after his teammate David Wells was perfect in 1998. Wells and Cone are two of seven perfect gamers on the top-100 winner's list.

Wells had a better-looking record than Cone, but Cone was more meritorious than Wells. Cone was a power pitcher who struck out 2,668 batters and finished his career with a 3.46 ERA. 

In 300 starts, Tom Browning only finished on top 123 times. The long-time Red gave up a hit per inning and had a career ERA of 3.94, but he was able to overcome his WHIP en route to a perfect game in 1988. 

Long careers can lead to shoddy statistics. Dennis Martinez pitched for 23 seasons. Martinez never won more than 16 games in a year. Due to his longevity in the game, he was able to win 245 games. If you want his average number of wins per season, it is slightly over 10. Martinez tossed a perfect game in 1991, one of the four seasons his ERA was under three. 

Most people think of Kenny Rogers as slow-throwing, aging, mediocre pitcher, but back in his second season as a starter, Rogers threw a perfect game. Like Martinez, Rogers has been in baseball for a very long time; yet, he has never won 20 games in a season and has also never cracked an ERA under 3.17. His career record is 219-156 and posts a 4.27 ERA. 

Well, that concludes the long list of less-than-great pitchers who have thrown perfect games. 

John Ward, Cy Young, Addie Joss, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, and Catfish Hunter were the six Hall of Famers to toss a perfect game.

I'm sure I am not the only person who was surprised after learning the history of the pitchers who have thrown perfect games. Think about all the great pitchers who never threw a perfect game. So many pitchers are better than Robertson, Barker, Witt, and company, yet the stars were never lined up for them.