Perfect Games in Baseball History

For a pitcher throwing a perfect game is a game, defined as allowing no hits, walks or errors in a nine-inning game, is a rare, almost impossible feat. Six of the 23 pitchers who have thrown perfect games have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

There have been 23 perfect games thrown in Major League Baseball history and no pitcher has ever done the feat twice. There were two perfect games in the same year on two occasions, 1880 and 2010, and in 2012 there were three perfect games. 

Perfect Games

Here's a list of all of the perfect games starting with the pitcher, the participating teams, scores, and dates:

• Lee Richmond, Worcester Ruby Legs vs. Cleveland Blues, 1-0, June 12, 1880
• John Ward, Providence Grays vs. Buffalo Bisons, 5-0, June 17, 1880
• Cy Young, Boston Red Sox vs. Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0, May 5, 1904
• Addie Joss, Cleveland Naps vs. Chicago White Sox, 1-0, Oct. 2, 1908
• Charles Robertson, Chicago White Sox at Detroit Tigers, 2-0, April 30, 1922
• Don Larsen, New York Yankees vs. Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0, Oct. 8, 1956 (World Series)
• Jim Bunning, Philadelphia Phillies at New York Mets, 6-0, June 21, 1964
• Sandy Koufax, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs, 1-0, Sept. 9, 1965
• Catfish Hunter, Oakland Athletics vs. Minnesota Twins, 4-0, May 8, 1968
• Len Barker, Cleveland Indians vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0, May 15, 1981
• Mike Witt, California Angels at Texas Rangers, 1-0, Sept. 30, 1984
• Tom Browning, Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0, Sept. 16, 1988
• Dennis Martinez, Montreal Expos at Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-0, July 28, 1991
• Kenny Rogers, Texas Rangers vs. California Angels, 4-0, July 28, 1994
• David Wells, New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins, 4-0, May 17, 1998
• David Cone, New York Yankees vs. Montreal Expos, 6-0, July 18, 1999
• Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks at Atlanta Braves, 2-0, May 18, 2004
• Mark Buehrle, Chicago White Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 5-0, July 23, 2009
• Dallas Braden, Oakland Athletics vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 4-0, May 9, 2010
• Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Florida Marlins, 1-0, May 29, 2010
• Philip Humber, Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners, 4-0, April 21, 2012
• Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants vs. Houston Astros, 10-0, June 13, 2012
• Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 1-0, Aug. 15, 2012

Unofficial Perfect Games

• Ernie Shore, Boston Red Sox vs. Washington Senators, 4-0, June 23, 1917. Shore entered the game after starting pitcher Babe Ruth allowed a walk to Ray Morgan and was ejected. Shore replaced Ruth, Morgan was caught stealing, and Shore retired the next 26 batters.
• Harvey Haddix, Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Milwaukee Braves, 0-1, 13 innings, May 26, 1959. He pitched 12 perfect innings and lost the game in the 13th.
• Pedro Martinez, Montreal Expos at San Diego Padres, June 3, 1995, 1-0, 10 innings. He pitched nine perfect innings, then allowed a leadoff double in the 10th.