Ranking MLB's perfect games: 20-16
Over the next week, theScore is ranking the 23 official perfect games in MLB history based on opposing lineup strength, the importance of the game, and the pitcher's performance. Today, we continue with Nos. 20-16.
23-21 | 20-16 | 15-11 | 10-6 | 5-1
20. Lee Richmond, 1880
Date: June 12, 1880
Score: Worcester Worcesters 1, Cleveland Blues 0
Site: Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds
Pitches: Not available
Game Score: Not available
Richmond, an obscure pitcher who won just 75 games in his six-year career, threw MLB's first perfect game, doing it for an expansion franchise in Worcester, Massachusetts that would fold two years later. Only 700 fans were unknowing witnesses to baseball history.
Unlike the other 19th-century perfect game (that John Montgomery Ward threw five days later), we know a bit more about how Richmond's feat played out. He tallied five strikeouts while allowing just two balls to be hit out of the infield. Three of his 27 outs were recorded through a 19th-century rule known as "foul bounds," which made balls caught after one bounce in foul territory count as outs.
Richmond silenced a potent Cleveland offense that posted a 100 OPS+ in 1880, ranking third in the NL. That, along with more available details about his outing, helps rank his perfect game above Ward's flawless effort. However, the odd 19th-century rules, including a mound that was 45 feet from home plate, leave him in the bottom 20. Regardless, Richmond's performance was, by all accounts, the finest of his era.
Interestingly, this game also may have featured the first-ever instance of platooning. Teams at this time usually stuck with one static lineup throughout the season, but Cleveland shifted its left-handed heavy squad to feature right-handed hitters against the southpaw Richmond, according to SABR's John R. Husman.
19. Mark Buehrle, 2009
Date: July 23, 2009
Score: Chicago White Sox 5, Tampa Bay Rays 0
Site: U.S. Cellular Field
Pitches: 116 (76 strikes)
Game Score: 93
In 2009, Buehrle, a durable soft-tossing lefty, threw his team's first perfect game in 87 years.
The perfecto was the second no-hitter of Buehrle’s career, coming two years after notching one against the Texas Rangers. It was part of a stretch when he retired 45 consecutive batters over three games.
A memorable home-run saving catch from center fielder Dewayne Wise, who came in as a defensive replacement in the ninth inning, preserved Buehrle’s perfect game in dramatic fashion.
At the time, the Rays were one of the toughest teams to get out consistently because of their on-base abilities, although they did end up on the wrong end of three perfect games over the next three seasons.
18. Tom Browning, 1988
Date: Sept. 16, 1988
Score: Cincinnati Reds 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0
Site: Riverfront Stadium
Pitches: 101 (72 strikes)
Game Score: 94
Browning needed to wait out a two-hour, 27-minute rain delay before taking the mound to begin the game. If that happened today, he likely would have been scratched.
He was brilliant while dismantling the Dodgers. Browning only struck out seven batters, but the lefty wasn't taken to a full count all night. Kirk Gibson, the eventual 1988 NL MVP, struck out twice.
The Dodgers came close to reaching base a few times, including Rick Dempsey's long fly ball to right field that Paul O'Neill corralled on the warning track in the ninth. Pinch hitter Tracy Woodson worked a 2-2 count before striking out to seal Browning's perfect game.
Browning was forced to be perfect, with his offense not providing much help. Dodgers starter Tim Belcher took a no-hitter into the sixth before finally allowing an unearned Cincinnati run.
The All-Star's feat was accomplished against the eventual World Series champion Dodgers, who remain the only team to win a title and be the victims of a perfect game in the same season. While the gem is underrated, it's worth wondering how much the rain delay silenced both teams' offenses, aiding Browning's performance.
17. Mike Witt, 1984
Date: Sept. 30, 1984
Score: California Angels 1, Texas Rangers 0
Site: Arlington Stadium
Pitches: 94 (70 strikes)
Game Score: 97
Throwing the 11th perfect game in MLB history on the last day of the season was how Witt capped off his breakout campaign. He registered his 15th win after posting a combined 23 victories in his first three major-league seasons.
The then-24-year-old went toe to toe with knuckleballer Charlie Hough, who only gave up one run and also pitched a complete game. However, Witt was better while collecting 10 strikeouts en route to perfection in a game that only lasted one hour and 49 minutes. Fun fact: The contest made Reggie Jackson the first position player to be on the winning side of two perfect games after playing in Catfish Hunter's 1968 gem.
The only knock on Witt's performance is that the 1984 Rangers weren't exactly the 1927 New York Yankees when it came to scoring runs. Texas' hitters finished with MLB's second-fewest WAR that year, according to FanGraphs.
16. Len Barker, 1981
Date: May 15, 1981
Score: Cleveland Indians 3, Toronto Blue Jays 0
Site: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Pitches: 103 (84 strikes)
Game Score: 98
About a month before a short players' strike during the middle of the 1981 campaign, Indians right-hander Len Barker pitched the 10th perfect game in MLB history.
There were only 7,290 fans in attendance for Barker's outing that included 11 swinging strikeouts. The righty struck out seven of the last 11 hitters he faced, never once reaching a three-ball count. Teammates and fans rushing the field swarmed him after Ernie Whitt's fly ball to center fielder Rick Manning ended the game.
Barker's perfect game was the first thrown with the American League featuring a designated hitter. But the mediocrity of Barker's opponent mitigated the disadvantage of not facing the opposing pitcher three times. The 1981 Blue Jays' 72 wRC+ is still the worst mark from any team in the DH era, according to FanGraphs. Barker caught Toronto during its 32-inning scoreless streak, and his perfect game was the club's third straight shutout loss.
Barker's catcher, Ron Hassey, would also catch Dennis Martinez's perfecto 10 years later. Hassey is the only backstop to catch two perfect games.