Two feats in baseball are considered to be among the most difficult to achieve- the No-Hitter and the Perfect Game. Both of these feats include the pitcher not allowing the opposing team to get a hit, but there is a difference between them. In the entire history of MLB, there were only 24 perfect games and 319 no-hitters.
A pitcher throwing a complete game of nine innings without giving up any hits is said to be a no-hitter. This indicates that the opponent team, including a hit, a walk, or a fielding error, can’t get on base. Although, a no-hitter is a very rare feat to achieve. In Major League Baseball (MLB) history, there have been over 300 no-hitters. A combined no-hitter is also there when more than one pitcher throws to achieve the no-hitter.
Achieving a perfect game is way more difficult as compared to a no-hitter. The pitcher does not allow any hits in a perfect game but it also does not allow any opponent players to reach base in any manner. Every batter has to be struck out by the pitcher they face or the opponent team must commit an error into the play that resulted in an out. In MLB history, there have been only 24 perfect games happen.
Why Are No-Hitters And Perfect Games So Rare?
When a pitcher does not allow any hits then it is said as a No-hitter, on the other hand, When a pitcher does not allow any opposing players to reach base in any way is said to be a perfect game. That simplifies that a perfect game is always a no-hitter but a no-hitter is always not a perfect game.
There are a few cases why no-hitters and perfect games are so rare. At the plate, the opponent team requires to be completely incapable first. Even on a well ball pitched they can’t get a single hit. The pitcher requires to be completely prevalent secondly. They cannot make mistakes and they will be able to strike out batters at will. The defense behind the pitcher requires to be perfect thirdly. If they make any mistake then the perfect game or no-hitter gets over.
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Most Famous No-Hitters And Perfect Games In MLB History
In MLB history, some of the most famous no-hitters and perfect games include:
- In 1965, Sandy Koufax’s perfect game
- In the 1956 World Series, Don Larsen’s perfect game
- In 1974, Nolan Ryan’s sixth no-hitter
- In 2004, Randy Johnson’s perfect game
- In 2010, Ray Halladay’s perfect game
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24th Perfect Game In MLB History
Domingo German, New York Yankees starting pitcher threw the first perfect game since 2012 in MLB. As a Yankees pitcher to throw a perfect game, he joined Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998), and David Cone (1999).
With nine strikeouts, he managed to hold the Oakland Athletics over nine innings by not allowing any batter to reach base or a single hit. For the Dominican pitcher, it was a tremendous achievement who had been struggling with his form prior to the game.
