Of the 318 sanctioned no-hitters in major professional baseball history, 23 of those were perfect games, in which no player reached on a hit, walk or error – 27 up, 27 down.
The “perfecto” is truly baseball’s rarest feat. No pitcher has accomplished it twice, and less than half of the existing franchises have notched a single perfect game over their histories. Fourteen franchises have managed to be on the wrong end of a perfect game, but oddly the circa-1998 Tampa Bay Rays were the victim of three perfect games in a four-season stretch (2009-2012).
Here are the perfectos:
| 1 | Lee Richmond |
|---|---|
| Worcester Ruby Legs (NL) | |
| Saturday, June 12, 1880 Worcester Ruby Legs 1, Cleveland Blues 0 Worcester Driving Park Grounds (Worcester) |
|
| 2 | John Montgomery Ward |
| Providence Grays (NL) | |
| Thursday, June 17, 1880 Providence Grays 5, Buffalo Bisons 0 Messer Street Grounds (Providence) |
|
| 3 | Cy Young |
| Boston Americans (AL) | |
| Thursday, May 5, 1904 Boston Americans 3, Philadelphia Athletics 0 Huntington Avenue Grounds (Boston) (His second of three no-hitters) |
|
| 4 | Addie Joss |
| Cleveland Naps (AL) | |
| Friday, October 2, 1908 Cleveland Naps 1, Chicago White Sox 0 League Park (Cleveland) (His first of two no-hitters) |
|
| 5 | Charlie Robertson |
| Chicago White Sox (AL) | |
| Sunday, April 30, 1922 Chicago White Sox 2, Detroit Tigers 0 Navin Field (Detroit) |
|
| 6 | Don Larsen |
| New York Yankees (WS Game 5) | |
| Monday, October 8, 1956 New York Yankees 2, Brooklyn Dodgers 0 Yankee Stadium (New York) (Larsen threw his perfect game in Game 5 of 1956 World Series) |
|
| 7 | Jim Bunning |
| Philadelphia Phillies (NL) | |
| Sunday, June 21, 1964 (First game of doubleheader) Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 0 Shea Stadium (Flushing) (Bunning’s second of two no-hitters; it ended a 58-year, 1-month, 18-day no-hitter drought for the Phillies, still the longest team drought for any franchise.) |
|
| 8 | Sandy Koufax |
| Los Angeles Dodgers (NL) | |
| Thursday, September 9, 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers 1, Chicago Cubs 0 Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) (Koufax’s fourth of four no-hitters setting a new major league record and breaking the previous mark of three shared between him, Larry Corcoran, Cy Young and Bob Feller. The record would be tied by Nolan Ryan in 1975 and broken in 1981.) |
|
| 9 | Jim “Catfish” Hunter |
| Oakland Athletics (AL) | |
| Wednesday, May 8, 1968 Oakland Athletics 4, Minnesota Twins 0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland) |
|
| 10 | Len Barker |
| Cleveland Indians (AL) | |
| Friday, May 15, 1981 Cleveland Indians 3, Toronto Blue Jays 0 Cleveland Stadium (Cleveland) |
|
| 11 | Mike Witt |
| California Angels (AL) | |
| Sunday, September 30, 1984 California Angels 1, Texas Rangers 0 Arlington Stadium (Texas) (Pitched on final game of season.) |
|
| 12 | Tom Browning |
| Cincinnati Reds (NL) | |
| Friday, September 16, 1988 Cincinnati Reds 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0 Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati) |
|
| 13 | Dennis Martínez |
| Montreal Expos (NL) | |
| Sunday, July 28, 1991 Montreal Expos 2, Los Angeles Dodgers 0 Dodger Stadium (Los Angeles) |
|
| 14 | Kenny Rogers |
| Texas Rangers (AL) | |
| Thursday, July 28, 1994 Texas Rangers 4, California Angels 0 The Ballpark at Arlington (Texas) |
|
| 15 | David Wells |
| New York Yankees (AL) | |
| Sunday, May 17, 1998 New York Yankees 4, Minnesota Twins 0 Yankee Stadium (New York) |
|
| 16 | David Cone |
| New York Yankees (AL team in IL game) | |
| Sunday, July 18, 1999 New York Yankees 6, Montreal Expos 0 Yankee Stadium (New York) |
|
| 17 | Randy Johnson |
| Arizona Diamondbacks (NL) | |
| Tuesday, May 18, 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks 2, Atlanta Braves 0 Turner Field (Atlanta) (Johnson’s second of two no-hitters; Johnson at age 40 becomes the oldest pitcher in major league history to hurl a perfect game. It’s the Diamondbacks’ first no-hitter.) |
|
| 18 | Mark Buehrle |
| Chicago White Sox (AL) | |
| Thursday, July 23, 2009 Chicago White Sox 5, Tampa Bay Rays 0 U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago) (Buehrle’s second no-no, and the third time he’s faced the minimum 27 batters.) |
|
| 19 | Dallas Braden |
| Oakland Athletics (AL) | |
| Sunday, May 9, 2010 Oakland Athletics 4, Tampa Bay Rays 0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland) |
|
| 20 | Roy Halladay |
| Philadelphia Phillies (NL) | |
| Saturday, May 29, 2010 Philadelphia Phillies 1, Florida Marlins 0 Sun Life Stadium (Miami) (His first of two no-hitters) |
|
| Armando Galarraga | |
| Detroit Tigers (AL) | |
| Wednesday, June 2, 2010 Detroit Tigers 3, Cleveland Indians 0 Comerica Park (Detroit) (We’re including a ghost version of this listing as it should have been perfect game if not for a blown call on the 27th batter.) |
|
| 21 | Philip Humber |
| Chicago White Sox (AL) | |
| Saturday, April 21, 2012 Chicago White Sox 4, Seattle Mariners 0 Safeco Field (Seattle) |
|
| 22 | Matt Cain |
| San Francisco Giants (NL) | |
| Wednesday, June 13, 2012 San Francisco Giants 10, Houston Astros 0 AT&T Park (San Francisco) |
|
| 23 | Felix Hernandez |
| Seattle Mariners (AL) | |
| Wednesday, August 15, 2012 Seattle Mariners 1, Tampa Bay Rays 0 Safeco Field (Seattle) |
Perfect games thrown by franchise
(a franchise’s other historical team names are in parenthesis)
- 3 Chicago White Sox
- 3 New York Yankees (New York Highlanders)
- 2 Cleveland Guardians (Cleveland Bluebirds/Cleveland Naps/Cleveland Indians)
- 2 Philadelphia Phillies (Philadelphia Quakers)
- 2 Oakland Athletics (Kansas City Athletics/Philadelphia Athletics, not the AA team)
- 1 Boston Red Sox (Boston Americans/Boston Pilgrims)
- 1 Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn Atlantics/Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Brooklyn Grooms/Brooklyn Superbas/Brooklyn Robins/Brooklyn Dodgers)
- 1 Los Angeles Angels (California Angels/Anaheim Angels)
- 1 Cincinnati Reds (Cincinnati Red Stockings/Cincinnati Redlegs)
- 1 Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)
- 1 Texas Rangers (Washington Senators)
- 1 Arizona Diamondbacks
- 1 San Francisco (New York Gothams/New York Giants)
- 1 Seattle Mariners
- 0 Atlanta Braves (Boston Red Caps/Boston Beaneaters/Boston Doves/Boston Rustlers/Boston Bees/Boston Braves/Milwaukee Braves)
- 0 Chicago Cubs (Chicago White Stockings/Chicago Colts/Chicago Orphans)
- 0 St. Louis Cardinals (St. Louis Browns/Brown Stockings – AA)
- 0 Houston Astros (Houston Colt .45s)
- 0 Baltimore Orioles (Milwaukee Brewers/St. Louis Browns)
- 0 Minnesota Twins (Washington Senators)
- 0 Detroit Tigers
- 0 Pittsburgh Pirates
- 0 Miami/Florida Marlins
- 0 Kansas City Royals
- 0 Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots)
- 0 Toronto Blue Jays
- 0 Colorado Rockies
- 0 Tampa Bay Rays (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
- 0 New York Mets
- 0 San Diego Padres
Defunct franchises:
- 1 Worcester Ruby Legs (NL)
- 1 Providence Grays (NL)
Perfect games thrown against a franchise
(a franchise’s other historical team names are in parenthesis)
- 3 Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn Robins, Brooklyn Grooms, Brooklyn Bridegrooms, Brooklyn Superbas)
- 3 Tampa Bay Rays (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
- 2 Minnesota Twins (Washington Senators)
- 1 Oakland Athletics (Kansas City Athletics, Philadelphia Athletics)
- 1 Chicago White Sox
- 1 Detroit Tigers
- 1 New York Mets
- 1 Chicago Cubs
- 1 Toronto Blue Jays
- 1 Texas Rangers (Washington Senators)
- 1 Los Angeles Angels (Anaheim Angels, California Angels)
- 1 Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)
- 1 Atlanta Braves (Boston Braves,Boston Red Caps, Boston Beaneaters, Boston Doves, Boston Bees)
- 1 Miami/Florida Marlins
- 1 Houston Astros (Houston Colt .45s)
- 1 Seattle Mariners
- 0 Cleveland Guardians (Cleveland Bluebirds/Cleveland Naps/Cleveland Indians)
- 0 Philadelphia Phillies (Philadelphia Quakers)
- 0 San Francisco Giants (New York Giants)
- 0 Baltimore Orioles (St. Louis Browns)
- 0 Boston Red Sox
- 0 Pittsburgh Pirates (Pittsburgh Alleghenys)
- 0 Cincinnati Reds (Cincinnati Red Stockings)
- 0 St. Louis Cardinals (St. Louis Browns/Brown Stockings – AA)
- 0 San Diego Padres
- 0 New York Yankees (New York Highlanders)
- 0 Milwaukee Brewers
- 0 Arizona Diamondbacks
- 0 Kansas City Royals
- 0 Colorado Rockies
Defunct franchises:
- 1 Cleveland Blues (AA)
- 1 Buffalo Bisons (NL)
Great site! I happened upon the box score in the AJC for the Matt Cain win over the Astros. Amazing game to say the least. And although this is one of only 22 (per your count) I would say it surpasses most because it was also the most lopsided game in Baseball history, besides the perfecto. Maybe another category winner for the Giants.
Corr – make that 23.
Yeah, some no-hitters have gone to 16-0 and even 18-0, but Cain’s is the only perfecto to hit double digits.
I was at the Jim Bunning perfect game, as noted it was the first game of a double header. In the second game, Rookie Rick Wise (188 game winner, 30 shut outs) made his first MLB start. Through the first 22 Met batters, he gave up one hit and three total and the relief pitcher gave up none. The Mets went 32 batters without reaching base and 40 without a hit (11 plus innings) between both games. So, in that double header the Mets had 3 hits. The Phillies commited four errors the second game giving them more errors than the Mets had hits over 2 games.
Wow. To see a perfect game in person would be amazing. But as a Mets fan, that must have been a long afternoon!
yeah that’s a good summation. I am a lifetime Phillies fan since 1951 age 5.
yeah, Dirk, I am a lifelong Phillies fan, since 1951 age 5…