# 19th perfect game in history **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 9, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842 "2010-05-09T22:37:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/61 "2010-05-11T15:31:02Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > 15 is also the number of players who have hit 4 homers in a single game. > > You want a really rare feat? Try “Hit by Pitch _twice in the same inning_”! It’s happened 4 times. [Link](http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_hbp2.shtml) (scroll to bottom) Rare would be “hit two grand slams in one inning”, which has happened once. ---
**Author:** ![HoboStew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f17d59/32.png) [@HoboStew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoboStew)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/62 "2010-05-11T16:59:34Z")
[QUOTE= Ol’Gaffer] Yeah, I’m the biggest A’s homer there is and this would be my take on it as well. I wouldn’t even begrudge Crawford or Bartlett trying this later in the game since it’s part of their regular repetoire. [/QUOTE] I feel like some people aren’t paying attention. I wouldn’t begrudge Crawford or Bartlett for attempting it either, **because that is part of their game**. They are speed guys, and bunting for a hit is part of what they do. Longoria is a power hitter with a high average. Bunting for a hit is not what he does. The only argument for it is the surprise thing, which frankly doesn’t impress me. It would have been surprising for Bonds to try to bunt for a hit in his prime, too. But he would never have done that, and as his manager I would never expect or want him to do it. > [@Crawlspace](#): > > He had nothing to apologize for. He thought it was funny that a near rookie had the balls to school a veteran on the unwritten rules and respect for the game over an issue no one ever makes an issue of. While it may not be an “official” unwritten rule (I have yet to be totally swung either way), the fact is that nobody ever does it and its a jerky thing to do. Typical classless move by Arod who has been pulling this kind of crap for years now. > [@Crawlspace](#): > > From the article titled [Yank’s Back A-Rod in Dispute With A’s](http://www.northjersey.com/sports/91993019_Mound_out_of_a_molehill_.html) > Bolding mine. Hm, guess the North Jersey sports section doesn’t get picked up by the AP, because I didn’t see this and I followed the story pretty closely. Fair enough, some yankees came to his defence, although Teixeira & Joba aren’t exactly the faces of the franchise. ---
**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/63 "2010-05-11T17:37:18Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > I feel like some people aren’t paying attention. I wouldn’t begrudge Crawford or Bartlett for attempting it either, **because that is part of their game**. They are speed guys, and bunting for a hit is part of what they do. Longoria is a power hitter with a high average. Bunting for a hit is not what he does. The only argument for it is the surprise thing, which frankly doesn’t impress me. It would have been surprising for Bonds to try to bunt for a hit in his prime, too. But he would never have done that, and as his manager I would never expect or want him to do it. > > \ My agreement with **garygnu** had to do with the fact that I didn’t think that Longoria broke any unwritten rules by attempting a bunt _in the 5th inning_. In the 8th or 9th - absolutely. It would be a classless move (although not necessarily if Crawford or Bartlett tried it…but I would, obviously, prefer if they were swinging away). We can continue to debate where the cut-off for “no-hitter in progress” is. I’ll open with the 7th. Oh, and can we all just concede that the Yankees are the greatest franchise in modern history and that anyone who has ever played for them (except for, apparently, Wells and Clemens) are the epitome of class, humility, grace, and sportsmanship? If we do that, can the rest of us go back to talking about the 19th perfect game in the history of MLB? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/64 "2010-05-11T17:54:36Z")
> [@TheBoltEater](#): > > [David Wells thinks he’s full of it](http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/yankeesblog/but_wells_says_rod_is_full_of_it_YSZXqZ4sGaWEbzTBMmryPI). I am willing to give a pass to anyone who defends his weight with “I never heard of a player going on the disabled list with pulled fat.” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/65 "2010-05-11T17:56:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll open with the 7th. I don’t think it’d be unreasonable to say the 6th - it’s after the pitcher has qualified to pick up the win. If it’s 0-0, I think you can stretch it to the 7th. ---
**Author:** ![Incensed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Incensed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incensed)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/66 "2010-05-11T20:57:51Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > \ > According to Baseball Reference, there has been a total of 391,362 games played in the Major Leagues since 1876. We know that there has been a total of 19 perfect games, giving us, over the history of the Major Leagues, **one PG for every 20,598 games**. > > But, in the period since the start of 1991, we have 7 PGs. According to my calculations, there have been 44,845 games played since the start of the 1991 season (including post-season games). So, over these last two decades, the rate for PGs is **one every 6406 games**. > > Therefore, in the period 1876-1990, there were 12 PGs in 346,517 games, giving a rate of **one every 28,876 games**. > > Based on all this, we can see that, in the period 1991-2010, the rate of PGs (on a total games per PG basis) is more than 4 times the rate for the period 1876-1990. Interesting trend; I think the lion’s share of it can be attributed to K rates. Think about it, the number of outs is the exponent in the probability formula, and since k’s are 100% (or nearly so) outs, whereas a ball in play is only about an out about 70% of the time, it is much easier for a pitcher (and his team) to be perfect in a high K environment. Notice how the preponderance of [perfect games](http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Perfect_game) occurred in high strikeout eras. Anyway, congrats to Braden, A-Rod is a known douchebag and the 7th inning is the cutoff for bunting in a no-no, except for 1 run games, in which anything goes. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/67 "2010-05-11T21:37:02Z")
> [@Incensed](#): > > Interesting trend; I think the lion’s share of it can be attributed to K rates. Absolutely. There’s a graph showing MLB strikeout rates [here](http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/strikeout-rates-through-the-years/), and the highest strikeout eras have been the two decades since 1990, as well as a period in the 1960s. Those 25 years or so account for 10 of the 19 perfect games. Furthermore, you’re right about the general principle that more strikeouts will increase your chances of a PG, because once the ball’s in play there’s a whole bunch of luck involved. Even if every single ball is hit straight to a fielder, a PG does not even allow for errors, leaving the pitcher at the mercy of his defense. I’d be interested to see an analysis of strikeout rates compared to both perfect games (where errors fuck up the pitcher) and to no-hitters (where errors don’t fuck up the pitcher). Of the PGs in the high strikeout eras, most of them have had a higher than average number of strikeouts. ```auto Bunning 10 Koufax 14 Hunter 11 Martinez 5 Rogers 8 Wells 11 Cone 10 Johnson 13 Buehrle 6 Braden 6 ``` As you can see, 6 of the 10 got double-digit strikeouts, which certainly reduces the luck factor, and reduces the pressure of the defense. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/68 "2010-05-11T21:58:21Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > Speaking of unwritten rules (and what a comeback to ARod’s moronic comment about being called out by someone with a handful of wins), what about Longoria trying to bunt for a hit in the 5th? I’m not all that opposed to the tactic as a general rule, but Longoria is one of the best hitters in the game. I can see a #8 or 9 hitter pulling that crap, but do you think Albert Pujols would try that in a million years? I lost a bit of respect for the guy, personally. The _best_ hitter in a given context is the one that does what’s most likely to get him on base and contribute to his team winning the game. I don’t know if Pujols is _ever_ in a situation where attempting to bunt for a hit is his best move–but if he is, and he _doesn’t_, that would be the move to criticize. It may be true that bunting was a bad move even for Longoria, in context–but not _because_ it was a small-ball tactic to break up a perfecto. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/69 "2010-05-11T22:06:35Z")
> [@Ol\_Gaffer](#): > > I thought it was nice, though, that Kapler swung at a 3-1 pitch with two outs in the 9th. In any other situation, he’s probably taking the pitch trying to work the walk but, at that point, he’s swinging away. Shows some respect for the game. Respect for the game? You mean the game of baseball or the perfecto? Either way, the most respectful move for the opposing team is to do everything they can to win, until the last out is made. Anything less degrades the achievement. ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/70 "2010-05-11T23:51:25Z")
> [@Crawlspace](#): > > That’s a nice link to a blog entry, but if you want to post opinion it should be your own. Well I’d love for someone to post a link to the actual postgame interview Rodriguez gave - my Google skills have failed me here and I can’t seem to find it - but if you want my opinion it’s pretty simple. A-Rod could have been a man and said, “Yeah, I did it, so what?”; but instead he played stupid to the press corps, pretending he didn’t even remember the incident, all the while putting on one of the worst poker faces I’ve ever seen. When he knocked the ball out of Arroyo’s hand it was classless, but at least it was an attempt to help his team win an ALCS game. When he yelled at that Toronto third baseman it was just plain bush league; but again, at least it was designed to help his team win a divisional game. Jogging across the mound was the _least_ egregious act of the three, and Braden probably overreacted to it pretty badly; but when A-Rod put on that stupid act in the locker room, he came off looking like a jerk _again_. Simply put, he’s waaaaay too good a player to keeping doing the childish stuff he does. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/71 "2010-05-30T04:52:35Z")
[Number 20!](http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/29/halladay-throws-perfect-game-for-phillies-against-marlins/?hpt=T2) ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/72 "2010-05-30T05:36:40Z")
Fun fact: this is only the second time there have been two perfect games in a season. The first time was in 1880, and those happened in the same week. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/73 "2010-05-30T11:50:59Z")
> [@HoboStew](#): > > Especially considering that these types of hitters don’t bunt much and arent especially good at it, as evidenced by Longoria fouling his off and thus giving up a strike in the process, which resulted in a strikeout. I’m not sure I follow you; he tried it because regular swings _ **also** _ weren’t especially likely to work, as evidenced by the fact that regular swings hadn’t worked yet, sure as those regular swings kept on not working for the rest of the game. How much can we extrapolate from a failed bunt if everything else failed too? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/74 "2010-05-30T11:58:51Z")
Last night’s game was absolutely appropriate to have a speedy pinch-hitter attempt a bunt in the bottom of the ninth. I’m surprised it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/75 "2010-06-01T21:23:45Z")
Over the weekend I was in Princeton, New Jersey, with an AM-only radio, and because of the electrical interference in the place I was staying at the only station I could pick up was the local station WHWH, which carries the Phillies games. I happened to turn on the radio during the sixth inning, and by chance got to hear a piece of history. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/76 "2010-06-02T01:56:12Z")
What do people think about the fact that [the Marlins are going to sell the previously unsold tickets for Halladay’s perfect game](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gh9eFIpEtXLFPP2MuDPpkQEB9CawD9G2QM5G0)? As I noted before in this thread, I attended Braden’s perfect game. A lot of people who went to that game saved their tickets as proof that they were there. It would be pretty annoying if the A’s were to put the unsold tickets for that game on sale now, as it would eliminate the “I was there” factor. It would also reduce the market value of the “real” tickets (I don’t plan to sell mine, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the idea). I have season tickets, which look different from regular tickets, so I would have some protection if the A’s were to try the same thing that the Marlins are doing. Still, it would bug me in principle. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/77 "2010-06-02T02:09:17Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > What do people think about the fact that [the Marlins are going to sell the previously unsold tickets for Halladay’s perfect game](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gh9eFIpEtXLFPP2MuDPpkQEB9CawD9G2QM5G0)? Blatant opportunism. Still, if some douchebag wants to buy the ticket and pretend he was at the game, i don’t really care. If i had been at the game, it would not detract from my own experience if someone wanted to falsely claim that they were also there. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842/78 "2010-06-04T15:50:22Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Unlike casual fans, a real baseball fan knows that home runs aren’t nearly as exciting as a beautiful diving catch or sharp double play. The most exciting things in baseball don’t show up on the scoreboard. Agreed. To me, the most top-notch play in the game is the long throw from right field to nail a runner at third base, especially if it’s a close call. I frankly don’t care which team makes it when I see it. [Here’s a good example.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTujNsRRQg) Sorry about the absolute suck music on the clip. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/19th-perfect-game-in-history/538842.md?page=3)