Total Baseball (1994 Edition)

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$Unique_ID{BAS00054} $Pretitle{} $Title{Streaks and Feats: Part 3} $Subtitle{} $Author{ Kavanagh, Jack} $Subject{Streaks Feats Triple Crown Batting Hitting Lajoie Ty Cobb Foxx Gehrig Williams DiMaggio Mantle Robinson Yastrzemski Hines Duffy Zimmerman Hornsby Klein Medwick Dalrymple Babe Ruth Pitching Young Waddell Johnson Grove Gomez Newhouser Bond Radbourn Keefe Clarkson Rusie Mathewson Alexander Vaughn Vance Walters Koufax Carlton Gooden Cooney Unassisted Triple Play Plays Hines Ball Wambsganss Burns Padgett Wright Cooney Neun Hansen Morandini No-Hitters Corcoran Galvin Atkinson Terry Breitenstein Young Mathewson Smith Joss Hughes Leonard Meer Feller Reynolds Erskine Spahn Bunning Wilson Holtzman Stoneman Ryan Busby Forsch} $Log{ DiMaggio, Joe*0018001.scf Cobb, Ty*0014101.scf Gehrig, Lou*0023301.scf Johnson, Walter*0030701.scf Grove, Lefty*0025601.scf} Total Baseball: The Highlights of the Game Streaks and Feats: Part 3 Jack Kavanagh The Feats What follows is a celebration of three of baseball's most rare and heroic feats: the triple crowns of batting and pitching, and the triple putout by one player, better known as the unassisted triple play. These feats do not rank with the central records of the game: Henry Aaron's 755 homers, Cy Young's 511 wins, Pete Rose's 4,256 hits, Ty Cobb's lifetime batting average of .366. They are not as distant in memory as a .400 hitter or a 40-game winner. But they are remarkable achievements and--unlike those mentioned above--are not evident from a perusal of the leaders tables found later in this book. Triple Crown Winners--Batting Baseball's first Triple Crown winner, Paul Hines, waited ninety years to be enthroned. The crown consists of three jewels: the batting, home run, and runs-batted-in titles must be won in a single season. The RBI count was a late starter among baseball stats and had to be reconstructed for earlier seasons. However, it was not for lack of the RBI distinction that Hines, of the Providence Grays, waited for belated recognition. His feat went unacknowledged until researchers turned up information which made him the true 1878 batting champion. A special Baseball Records Committee met in 1968 and put a stamp of approval on statistics which had been in dispute or unverified from baseball's past. The new information appeared the next year when Macmillan published the first edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia. Abner Dalrymple had gone to his grave in 1939, the year the Baseball Hall of Fame Museum opened in Cooperstown, New York, with one baseball honor to his name. He had won the National League batting championship in 1878. Paul Hines, who died in 1935, was remembered only as the winner of the 1879 title. New data--coming from the two tie games he played and the one for Dalrymple--have revealed that Hines was a repeat batting champion who won both the 1878 and 1879 championships, and Abner Dalrymple has been demoted into relative obscurity. Paul Hines, who had previously been credited with making an unassisted triple play, then lost that distinction as historians and researchers perused boxscores, gained two others--and eventually will regain his unassisted triple play, but more on that soon. With his newly acknowledged batting title, the RBI leadership which resulted from reconstructed stats and the small but clearly superior total of 4 home runs, Paul Hines had attained the first Triple Crown. In addition, when he won the batting title again in 1879, again through later research efforts, he became the first to repeat as hitting leader. Another nineteenth-century player, Hugh Duffy, had--since 1969, when his RBI data first was published--been considered the first to wear the Triple Crown. In 1894 he had won the three necessary titles but had almost obscured his own feat by batting .438, later corrected upward to .440. This remains the highest batting average of all time and has always interested interviewers more than the Triple Crown. Duffy's 18 home runs and 145 runs batted in led the league in these departments in 1894, but the idea of linking them as a diadem had not yet been formed. No one knew Paul Hines had done it and few cared that Hugh Duffy had. Although the RBI was known as a baseball stat as early as 1879, it was not commonly used until the 1910s, and not an official measure until 1920. Hugh Duffy, a twinkle-eyed New Englander, told about his batting record for the fifty subsequent years that he spent in major league baseball, the last several decades as a coach for the Boston Red Sox. When a rookie named Ted Williams arrived in the big leagues in 1939, Hugh Duffy became his first mentor. Duffy proclaimed Williams as the greatest hitter he ever saw and watched while Williams won two Triple Crowns and missed a third by the closest margin possible. The player who placed the stamp of the superstar most firmly on the concept of the Triple Crown was Nap Lajoie, who was the dominant player in the game when the American League was formed and ushered in twentieth-century baseball. The great Napoleon Lajoie had become the star of the Philadelphia Phillies as the nineteenth century closed. He was the prize recruit for the new league, remaining in Philadelphia where Connie Mack was establishing a new franchise. Lajoie put the team and the American League on the baseball map in 1901, when he provided the league-leading totals in the three prize categories. He batted .426, hit 14 home runs in the dead-ball era of the time, as later research showed, and, batted in 145 runs. It was the greatest season the immortal would ever have. He would win two more batting titles and again lead the league in RBIs. However, home runs were not his specialty. Still, his Triple Crown brought instant respect to the new league and, together with other stars who had switched leagues, forced acceptance that the American League was a full-fledged major league and would be part of the basis of baseball's structure from then on. Lajoie was succeeded as the American League's superstar by Ty Cobb, who also laid claim to the Triple Crown in 1909. As with Lajoie, hitting home runs was not Cobb's dominant ability, and despite ten batting championships and four RBI titles, he wore the Triple Crown but once. He came close two other times, in 1907 and 1911, finishing second in home runs each of those years. Cobb's great rival was the National League's Honus Wagner, who never wore the Triple Crown, although he too missed it by a close margin. In 1908 he was second in home runs, the most difficult final jewel for the superstars of the dead-ball era to achieve. Wagner's eight batting titles and four RBI championships were never accompanied by a home run leadership. While the list of those who have won the Triple Crown is short, it is a quality list. All but one Triple Crown holder in this century--the suspect Heinie Zimmerman--are in the Hall of Fame. In 1912 Zimmerman, one of the best major league third basemen, put together the greatest season he would ever have. Honus Wagner failed to repeat as batting champion, and his 102 RBI total was one less than Zimmerman's, according to the tabulations of Ernie Lanigan. The 14 home runs Zimmerman hit edged teammate Wildfire Schulte, who had led the league in four-baggers the two previous seasons, by one. Only in batting average, where Zimmerman's .372 far distanced the field, did he have a clear superiority, but a Triple Crown by any measure is a rare treasure and it was Heinie's without dispute, that is until the researchers of Information Concepts, Inc., the group that compiled The Baseball Encyclopedia, downgraded his RBI total to 99. Later, an editor of The Baseball Encyclopedia fudged Zim's RBI count back up to 103 to restore his Triple Crown, but we cannot subscribe to such nonsense. It was 1922 before the Triple Crown would again rest on a player's head, but when it did, it landed on the brow of the royally nicknamed "Rajah" Hornsby and just eluded Babe Ruth, "the Sultan of Swat." Hornsby strung together six successive batting titles, from 1920 through 1925, and added another in 1928. Although he had home run power to go with his high averages, the title escaped him in 1921, when George Kelly outhomered him by two. It would have been the first Triple Crown for the Rajah and would have given him an eventual three, a total no one has ever achieved. Babe Ruth, who got two legs up on the Triple Crown seven times without ever winning one, had many home run titles and frequently topped the league in RBIs. However, the competition for batting championships in the 1920s, when Cobb, Sisler, and Heilmann topped .400 and Heilmann alone accounted for four batting titles, was tough. Ruth managed one hitting title but lost the RBI leg that year, 1924, to Goose Goslin. The Babe won many honors, but the Triple Crown was not among them. In the 1930s a quartet of superstars and future Hall of Fame members competed for the Triple Crown during most of the decade, and each took a single turn wearing it. The American League had two great first baseman, Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig. Each was a threat to claim the Crown every year, but when Foxx narrowly failed on two occasions, it was not Gehrig who stymied him. In 1932 Jimmie came frustratingly close. He was edged out of the batting title by the clumsy-fielding Dale Alexander in 1932. Called "Moose," Alexander split the season between Detroit and Boston, the first player to win a batting title while appearing with two teams. Alexander barely qualified for the championship, but his .367 topped the .364 by Foxx. The following year, 1933, Foxx won his lone Triple Crown. Alexander was long gone back to the minor leagues before Jimmie Foxx had his second near-miss of the Triple Crown in 1938. This time it was the home run lead that eluded him. Although Foxx hit 50 home runs in 1938, while winning the batting and RBI honors, Hank Greenberg hit 58 homers to almost equal Babe Ruth's record of 60. While Gehrig and Foxx were trying on the Triple Crown for size in the American League, two sluggers in the National League were sharing domination of their league. Chuck Klein was the league's outstanding batter during the early 1930s and Joe Medwick took over for the final half of the decade. Both wore the Triple Crown, Klein getting his in 1933 when Jimmie Foxx was doing likewise. It was the only year that each league produced a Triple Crown winner. Medwick won his in 1937. The next to claim the Triple Crown was Ted Williams. A brash rookie when he reported to the Boston Red Sox in 1939, he had little to learn from the old guy hitting fungos in practice. Hugh Duffy took one look at Williams' swing and knew the only part he could serve was as a role model. Williams had his eye on hitting .400. When he did it, in 1941, his .406 was far short of Duffy's .440, the all-time record. Williams was also one leg short of the Triple Crown in 1941. He added the home run title to his batting championship, but his main rival, Joe DiMaggio, had topped the RBI column. DiMaggio had piled up his runs-batted-in totals largely during his 56-game hitting streak that season. Ted Williams won all three titles for the Triple Crown the next season, 1942, and then went off to serve in World War Two. Several wartime players won two legs of the Triple Crown: Rudy York, with the Detroit Tigers in 1943, and Bill Nicholson, a Chicago Cubs outfielder in 1943 and 1944. Both hit home runs and batted in runs at league-leading levels, but they were far outdistanced for the batting-average honors. Ted Williams returned from the war in 1946 and finished second in each of the Triple Crown categories. Mickey Vernon beat him out for the batting title, and Hank Greenberg, who had blocked Jimmie Foxx in 1938, had his last hurrah with the Tigers, topping Williams in both home runs and runs batted in. The next year, with Greenberg gone to the National League, Ted Williams claimed his second Triple Crown. No one was close to him in any of the three prize categories, and despite three prime seasons lost to wartime service, the Red Sox star seemed most likely to be the first to wear the Triple Crown three times. He had won in 1942 and 1947. In 1948 his old nemesis, Joe DiMaggio, who was never to win a Triple Crown, picked off two of the crown jewels, leading the American League in home runs with 39 and in runs batted in with 155. Ted Williams was far ahead of the pack as batting champion with a .369 average. It was 1949 that proved the greatest disappointment to Williams. DiMaggio was injured much of the season and did not compete for individual honors. However, the pennant race was tightly contested between the Yankees and Red Sox, and more interest was focused on that than on the seemingly assured third Triple Crown to be worn by Ted Williams. As the season reached the final weekend, Boston came to New York for two games between the Red Sox and Yankees. Boston was a game ahead and needed to win only one to gain the pennant. They lost on Saturday, and the teams were tied when Sunday's game began. The biggest threat to Ted Williams' third Triple Crown came from teammate Vern Stephens, a slugging shortstop who was tied with Ted for RBIs. Williams held a small but probably secure batting lead over George Kell of the Detroit Tigers. However, Williams and the Red Sox were in a slump, and it cost both the team and the individual their honors. The final game of the season between the Yankees and Red Sox was one of the most exciting of all time, if you were a Yankee fan. If you were among the generations of faithful Red Sox followers who have seen their team fail in the final situation, one frustrating season after another, it was a bitter end. The Yankees staved off a three-run Red Sox rally to win 5-3. Williams had gone hitless and ended up not only missing a World Series appearance but his third Triple Crown. While Williams had sputtered in the final games, George Kell, who had missed two stretches of games with injuries, got back in the lineup for Detroit's final three games. With only a batting title at stake, Kell had two hits in his final game. When the final statistics were known, George Kell had batted .3429 and Ted Williams .3427. It was the closest any player ever came to a Triple Crown without actually winning it and the closest anyone has come to earning the honor three times. The year before, in the National League, Stan Musial had narrowly missed his bid for a Triple Crown, when he was one behind Johnny Mize and Ralph Kiner, who tied for the home run title with 40. In 1953 Al Rosen had a near-miss almost as tight as Ted Williams had had in 1949. Rosen won the home run and RBI titles but was edged out, .337 to .336, for the batting championship by Mickey Vernon, who had blocked Williams' bid in that category in 1946. Mickey Mantle hit his peak in 1956 when he put the necessary ingredients together to win a Triple Crown. He hit .353 for the only batting title he would win, had top totals in home runs with 52, and piled up 130 runs batted in. Ten years later, in 1966, Frank Robinson reacted to being traded out of the National League by winning the Triple Crown in the American League. His .316 batting average was one of only two above .300 that year in the American League. He had switched leagues just in time. A .316 average wouldn't have made the top five in the National League in 1966. He won the home run and RBI titles comfortably. In 1967, the year of the Red Sox "Impossible Dream," the team was driven to a surprise championship by the captain, Carl Yastrzemski, who had an astounding year. Yaz won the only home run title of his career and also the lone RBI championship he would record. He joined these with one of his three batting crowns and ended the season with what was to become an elusive honor, the Triple Crown. He is the last player to wear the title, although a number of players have gained two legs, including Yaz's teammate, Jim Rice, who did this twice. In the American League the inability of power hitters to achieve a high batting average has resulted in a parade of sluggers leading in home runs and runs batted in but falling short in base-hit percentage. Harmon Killebrew, who tied with Yaz for home runs in Yastrzemski's crown-winning season, Frank Howard, Dick Allen, Reggie Jackson, George Scott, Eddie Murray, Tony Armas, and Jose Canseco have won two legs but failed the batting title. Since Yaz won the last Triple Crown, two National Leaguers have won batting titles and the RBI championship, but failed in home runs. Joe Torre in 1971 and Al Oliver in 1982 earned two legs one way, and Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, George Foster, Andre Dawson, and Mike Schmidt have done it with the home run and RBI crowns. Foster did it twice and Schmidt four times. Combining a high batting average with power is a rare characteristic in contemporary baseball. Players such as Rod Carew and Wade Boggs, who won frequent batting championships without expectation of adding the other elements of the Triple Crown, served to reduce the likelihood that a pure power hitter will also annex a batting title, especially in the course of the same season. Carl Yastrzemski might not have been just part of a vanishing breed. He might have been the last example of a breed that has already vanished. Triple Crown Hitters ------------------------------------------------------------------- American League ------------------------------------------------------------------- Player Team Year HR RBI BA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Nap Lajoie Phila. 1901 14 125 .422 Ty Cobb Det. 1909 9 115 .377 Jimmie Foxx Phila. 1933 48 163 .356 Lou Gehrig N.Y. 1934 49 165 .363 Ted Williams Bos. 1942 36 137 .356 Bos. 1947 32 114 .343 Mickey Mantle N.Y. 1956 52 130 .353 Frank Robinson Bal. 1966 49 122 .316 Carl Yastrzemski Bos. 1967 44 121 .326 ------------------------------------------------------------------- National League ------------------------------------------------------------------- Player Team Year HR RBI BA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Hines Prov. 1878 4 50 .358 Hugh Duffy Bos. 1894 18 145 .438 Heinie Zimmerman [*] Chi. 1912 14 103 .372 Rogers Hornsby St.L. 1922 42 152 .401 St. L. 1925 39 143 .403 Chuck Klein Phila. 1933 28 120 .368 Joe Medwick St.L. 1937 31 154 .374 ------------------------------------------------------------------- * Zimmerman ranked first in RBIs as calculated by Ernie Lanigan, but only third as calculated by ICI research in 1969. Triple Crown Winners--Pitching Tommy Bond, the only nineteenth-century pitcher on the list of Triple Crown Winners who is not in the Hall of Fame, has, at least, the honor of turning the feat first. When the National League was formed in 1876, Bond was an established star in the National Association. The others who eventually won the pitchers' Triple Crown, for the most wins and strikeouts and the lowest ERA in a single season, began their careers in the National League. Although he was only twenty-one when he won the Triple Crown in 1877, Bond had been pitching for prominent teams since he had been sixteen and joined the Athletics of Brooklyn. He entered the National League with Hartford but moved to Boston for his best seasons. He was Boston's only pitcher during 1877 and 1878 and pitched the great majority of games in 1879. He won 123 of the 204 games Boston played in those early years of short schedules. Bond, who later coached baseball at Harvard, was celebrated for his victories and strikeouts. The measurement of earned runs was done retroactively. As Bond's career lapsed, the next to claim the Triple Crown of pitching emerged. Old Hoss Radbourn reached the peak year that gave him his nickname for durability in 1884. He pitched the Providence Grays to the National League pennant, almost singlehandedly, after Charlie Sweeney's departure had left only Radbourn as the team's pitcher. His 60 victories is the most ever won by a pitcher in a season. It shines brightest among all such jewels in the Triple Crowns worn by those who came after him. Radbourn won 308 games in his big league career, but the 60 he totaled in his 1884 season--including a streak of 26 wins in 27 decisions--gave him a celebrity which was recognized when he was named to the Hall of Fame in its opening year, 1939. A Triple Crown is an exacting measurement of a pitcher's superiority at any time. However, because of the circumstance that he started so many games for the league's best team, Radbourn's win totals and strikeout numbers can largely be attributed to sheer volume. However, it is his 1.38 ERA at a time when the league mark was 2.98 that stamps Old Hoss as truly remarkable for his time. Tim Keefe, the next pitcher to annex a Triple Crown, wore his for a season that has kept his name in the active files of modern baseball writers. Whenever a pitcher runs off a string of victories, this prompts a review of the record book, and Keefe's 19 in a row is remembered as the highest total, shared with Rube Marquard's 1912 season total of 19 straight. In all, Tim Keefe won 35 games for the New York Giants in 1888, just edging out the man who would take the Triple Crown the next year. John Clarkson pitched Boston to a pennant in 1889, winning the Triple Crown as the workhorse of a staff which included the worn Old Hoss Radbourn. Clarkson won 49 games and Radbourn 20. Clarkson's career was overlapped by that of Amos Rusie, the most awesome pitcher of the 1890s. A burly farm boy, "the Hoosier Thunderbolt" was the principal reason the distance of the pitcher's box was pushed back in 1893. Rusie responded the following year by continuing to dominate the league in strikeouts, while topping all pitchers with 36 wins and an ERA of 2.78. Probably because of the increased pitching distance, the league ERA ballooned to 5.32 and batters averaged .309 in 1894. This was the year Hugh Duffy won the batter's Triple Crown and set a still-unexcelled .440 batting record. Rusie's career peaked in 1894. The next season one of the most oppressive men to own a big league team, Andrew Freedman, bought the Giants and began a blood feud with Rusie. Rusie sat out the 1896 season, but returned as a reluctant star for two more 20-game-winning seasons. Then he tore his arm muscles and retired. A token appearance in 1901 was the tenth season which qualified him for election to the Hall of Fame. Just as Nap Lajoie marked the American League's inaugural in 1901 by winning a Triple Crown for batters, another established star, Cy Young, did the same for the pitchers' version. Young, in midcareer as a big league pitcher, won 33 games, a total almost dwarfed among the 511 he won in his career. This latter is a mark certain to stand permanently. With two major leagues now offering the potential of a Triple Crown winner each year, it took only until 1905 to have both the American and National Leagues produce such winners. Christy Mathewson won the first of the two Triple Crowns he would win for the New York Giants, and the eccentric Rube Waddell had his last great year with the Philadelphia Athletics. Matty won 31 games, struck out 206, and had an ERA of 1.43. The Rube produced 26 wins, 287 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.48. The World Series, inaugurated in 1903 but boycotted by the Giants in 1904, was resumed in 1905. It would have provided marvelous theater for the two Triple Crown winners. The confrontation would have been the only one of its kind. Never since have two pennant winners also had pitching's Triple Crown winners. Alas, the colorful Rube Waddell injured his arm while wrestling a teammate just before the Series began. Without Waddell to oppose him, Christy Mathewson won three games, all shutouts, and the Giants took the Series in five. Matty won the Triple Crown again in 1908 but lost his last start when the Chicago Cubs won the playoff game of a season which had ended in a tie. It was the failure of Fred Merkle to reach second as the winning run scored, resulting in his becoming an inning-ending force out, that deprived Matty of a second opportunity to wear his Triple Crown into a World Series. Walter Johnson, the next to sport a Triple Crown, won three at widely spaced intervals in his long career. The first came in 1913, the next in 1918, and the last in 1924 when, in his eighteenth season, Johnson once more topped the American League in the three prize categories. This time it also brought a pennant to the Senators, the first in their history. The World Series came close to being a disappointing anticlimax for Johnson. He lost the opener to the New York Giants in extra innings, then lost again, but salvaged glory by winning the deciding seventh game in relief. Earlier, during Walter Johnson's widely spaced crown jewels, Grover Alexander produced the most impressive reign ever enjoyed by a Triple Crown winner. Pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies, he had three successive seasons with 30 or more victories, starting with the pennant-winning 1915 season; each time he led the NL in ERA and K's as well. What stopped Alexander's run of mastery was World War One. Old Pete swapped his baseball uniform for the khaki of the Army and his Triple Crown honors for a sergeant's stripes. While Pete was in the Army, another pitcher claimed the Triple Crown. Hippo Vaughn in 1917 had achieved immortality by engaging in a double no-hit game, losing in the tenth inning. In 1918, with Alexander away, Vaughn won the Triple Crown pitching for the Cubs. Ironically Grover Alexander had served his Army hitch as a new member of the Cubs. With his battery mate, Reindeer Bill Killefer, he had been sold to Chicago after winning his third Triple Crown, in 1917. He pitched only three games in 1918 while Vaughn was in the star's role, and in 1919 the two teammates competed for the Triple Crown. Alexander led the league in ERA and Vaughn in strikeouts. Between them they won 37 games, but neither came close to topping the league. However, in 1920 Grover Alexander again emerged as the Triple Crown winner. It was his fourth, the most ever won by a pitcher. He continued to star, despite personal and physical problems, during the 1920s without again leading in any of the categories which make up the diadem of the Triple Crown. Next to wear the Triple Crown of pitchers was Dazzy Vance. Like Rusie, Waddell, and Johnson, Vance began with expectation of finishing each season with a league-leading total in strikeouts. In 1924 he won the Most Valuable Player Award, even though the Brooklyn Dodgers as a team could not win the pennant. To his strikeout superiority, the Dazzler added leadership in wins with 24 and an ERA of 2.16. His domination of the league can best be measured by comparing his ERA to a league total of 3.87 as the lively ball bounded off hitters' bats. Lefty Grove of the Philadelphia Athletics won back to back Triple Crowns in 1930 and 1931, having missed one of the three legs in 1929. The A's won pennants all three of those years, and Grove was their leading pitcher. In 1929 teammate George Earnshaw topped him in wins, 24 to 20, as Grove missed getting decisions in an unusual number of games. Another southpaw ace, Lefty Gomez, succeeded Lefty Grove as a Triple Crown winner. Like Grove, he wore the title twice, but not consecutively. He won his first Triple Crown, oddly, in a season when his team, the New York Yankees, didn't win a pennant, 1934. His next came in 1937 as the Yankees were in the midst of a run of four straight pennants. Gomez was only a spot starter in 1939, when the Yankees met the Reds in the World Series, but Cincinnati had a converted third baseman, Bucky Walters heading their staff, the first National Leaguer to win the Triple Crown in fifteen years. During World War Two, Hal Newhouser emerged as a superlative pitcher who might have been equally impressive against peacetime competition. He missed the Triple Crown in 1944, winning two legs but coming in second to Detroit Tiger teammate Dizzy Trout for ERA honors. In 1945, the final wartime year, Newhouser topped the American League in the three prize categories, and winning the Triple Crown went into a long hiatus when the 1946 season resumed with the star pitchers back from service. Despite leading the league in victories six times and in strikeouts seven, Bob Feller never won an official ERA title to match up with the other components of the Triple Crown. Although Feller's ERA in 1940 is today regarded as the lowest for that year, at that time Ernie Bonham won the title despite pitching only 99 innings. Warren Spahn topped the National League in victories eight times, led in strikeouts four times, and even took ERA honors three times, but he could never link them up in a single season. Robin Roberts, like Feller, never won an ERA title, so despite leading in victories four times and strikeouts twice, the singular honor of the Triple Crown eluded him, as it did all other pitchers once baseball had returned to the normalcy of peacetime play. It wasn't until Sandy Koufax reached stardom when the Dodgers were transplanted to Los Angeles and notched three Triple Crown titles that the distinction was again achieved. Koufax topped the three needed categories in 1963, 1965, and 1966. Unlike any other winner of the Triple Crown, Koufax retired with the honor. An aching arthritic arm caused his early retirement, leaving a final season of 27 victories, 317 strikeouts, and an ERA of 1.73. A Triple Crown-winning pitcher has not always meant a pennant for his team, although the two have gone together more often than not. However, in 1972 Steve Carlton took the honor despite pitching for a last-place team. There has never been such a contrast in the success of a team's best pitcher and the rest of its staff. The Phillies won 59 games, and Carlton was responsible for 27 of them. He also led, for the only time, in ERA, with 1.97, and struck out 310. Again a drought followed, despite the presence of such star pitchers as Tom Seaver, Fergie Jenkins, Juan Marichal, Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, and others who led in some of the prize-earning stats. Then in 1985 Dwight Gooden took up the challenge and claimed the Triple Crown with a remarkable record: 24-4, 1.53, and 268 strikeouts. Gooden faltered the next year, but Roger Clemens came forward to just miss the honor by finishing second in strikeouts while winning the other two legs. Triple Crown Pitchers ------------------------------------------------------------------- American League ------------------------------------------------------------------- Player Team Year W L SO ERA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cy Young Bos. 1901 33 10 158 1.62 Rube Waddell Phila. 1905 26 11 287 1.48 Walter Johnson Wash. 1913 36 7 303 1.09 Wash. 1918 23 13 162 1.27 Wash. 1924 23 7 158 2.72 Lefty Grove Phila. 1930 28 5 209 2.54 Phila. 1931 31 4 175 2.06 Lefty Gomez N.Y. 1934 26 5 158 2.33 N.Y. 1937 21 11 194 2.33 Hal Newhouser Det. 1945 25 9 212 1.81 ------------------------------------------------------------------- National League ------------------------------------------------------------------- Player Team Year W L SO ERA ------------------------------------------------------------------- Tommy Bond Bos. 1877 40 17 170 2.11 Old Hoss Radbourn Prov. 1884 60 12 441 1.38 Tim Keefe N.Y. 1888 35 12 333 1.74 John Clarkson Bos. 1889 49 19 284 2.73 Amos Rusie N.Y. 1894 36 13 195 2.78 Christy Mathewson N.Y. 1905 31 8 206 1.27 N.Y. 1908 37 11 259 1.43 Grover Alexander Phila. 1915 31 10 241 1.22 Phila. 1916 33 12 167 1.55 Phila. 1917 30 13 201 1.86 Hippo Vaughn Chi. 1918 22 10 148 1.74 Grover Alexander Chi. 1920 27 14 173 1.91 Dazzy Vance Brook. 1924 28 6 262 2.16 Bucky Walters Cin. 1939 27 11 137 2.29 Sandy Koufax L.A. 1963 25 5 306 1.88 L.A. 1965 26 8 382 2.04 L.A. 1966 27 9 317 1.73 Steve Carlton Phila. 1972 27 10 310 1.97 Dwight Gooden N.Y. 1985 24 4 268 1.53 ------------------------------------------------------------------- The Unassisted Triple Play On May 30, 1987, family and friends of ninety-three-year-old Jimmy Cooney gathered at his home to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of his unassisted triple play. Rare? It was the last one made in the National League. Only three have been made since that long ago Memorial Day--one, oddly, the day after Cooney's. Letters from National League president A. Bartlett Giamatti and Dallas Green, the general manager of the Chicago Cubs, congratulated Jimmy Cooney. He had worn a Chicago Cubs uniform the day fate had decreed he be in the right place at the right time. A much-traveled infielder, he had worn six major league uniforms in seven seasons. It was a happy coincidence that he was Chicago's shortstop when he made his unassisted triple play. His father, the first Jimmy Cooney, had been Chicago's shortstop in 1890, '91, and part of '92. Jimmy's younger brother John had logged twenty years in the big leagues as a pitcher, and after his arm went lame, he had become an outfielder and first baseman. Jimmy Cooney was no stranger to unassisted triple plays. Two seasons earlier, when he was shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals, he was doubled off second by the Pirate shortstop Glenn Wright, who next tagged out Rogers Hornsby coming from first base. Wright had snared a line drive off the bat of Jim Bottomley to start his triple play. He watched from the Pirates' bench the day Cooney emulated his feat in much the same manner. Paul Waner provided the line drive to make the first out, with Cooney snaring it as he ran toward second base. Clyde Barnhart had broken for second on the pitch, and Lloyd Waner, the runner on second, had dashed for third as his brother, Paul, swung. Lloyd was doubled off second, and Cooney simply tagged the startled Barnhart, who thought the ball had gone into center field for a base hit. There are certain similarities among nine of the ten unassisted triple plays which have been recorded. These have occurred with runners on first and second, have been made by infielders, and have required the complicity of base runners either attempting a double steal or racing away on a hit-and-run play. The tenth--which is soon to be revealed--was by an outfielder, with runners on second and third. Even the most celebrated unassisted-triple-play feat had an explanation that almost absolved the victims, the Brooklyn Dodgers, of bonehead base running. This was the only such event to happen in a World Series, and it was turned in by Bill Wambsganss, the Cleveland Indian second baseman in 1920. Those who have examined the boxscore have questioned the tactics of Uncle Wilbert Robinson, the Brooklyn manager whose strategies often were charitably called "unusual." It was the fifth inning, and Brooklyn, behind 7-0, had the first two runners on base. Play it safe? Not Uncle Robbie. Despite being scoreless, the Dodgers had been hitting the Cleveland pitcher, Jim Bagby, hard. It was a game in which they made thirteen hits and scored a lone run. Bill Wambsganss, who told the story hundreds of times, explained that he chose to play very deep when Clarence Mitchell, a very good-hitting pitcher came to bat in the fifth inning. He didn't think a seven-run lead, so early in the game, was too secure the way the Dodgers had been hitting. When Mitchell cracked the ball on a line, the batters took off, not thinking that Wamby was where the ball was going. He was and ran over and doubled Kilduff off second and turned and found a dumbfounded Otto Miller standing in the baseline. He tagged him out and, as has been the case after every unassisted triple play, trotted off the field in silence. It always takes the crowd a minute or more to realize what has happened. In the early years of baseball, outfielder Paul Hines of the Providence Grays, had been credited with making an unassisted triple play. Later-day research indicated Hines had made an unassisted double play but had thrown to a base for the third out. But according to the rules of 1878, Hines did indeed register an unassisted triple play. In 1928, Providence sportswriter W.D. "Bill" Perrin--who at that time had covered the Providence Grays for nearly half a century--described Hines' actions in the game played on May 8, 1878, in Providence. "The circumstances of this play have afforded more arguments than any other known play. That the play was made is not disputed, but whether Hines made the play unassisted or whether [second baseman Charles] Sweasy completed it by retiring the third man. . . . Here is what happened: [Jim] O'Rourke drew a base on balls and scored when Sweasy threw [Jack] Manning's drive over [Providence first baseman Tim] Murnane's head, Manning going to third on the error. Murnane muffed [Ezra] Sutton's fly, Manning holding third [as Sutton took second]. [Jack] Burdock was next up and dropped the ball just over [shortstop Tom] Carey's head for what looked like a safe hit. . . . "The story in the Providence Journal of the next day thus describes the play: 'Manning and Sutton proceeded to the home plate,' meaning that both rounded third. 'Hines ran in and caught the ball, and kept going to tag third.' The rule then as now requires that when a base runner is forced to retrace his steps he must retouch the bases passed in reverse order. As Hines touched third with the ball in his hand, after making the catch, before either Manning or Sutton could get back, both were out automatically. It is true that Hines then on a signal from Sweasy threw the ball to second, but this was unnecessary as both runners were out at third." To confirm Perrin's view, let's look at the playing rules for 1878, the year in which Hines made his celebrated play. Rule V, Section 1 reads: "Players running the bases must touch each base in regular order, viz., first, second, third, and home bases; and when obliged to return to bases they have occupied they must retouch them in reverse order. . . ." And Rule V, Section 15 reads: "Any base-runner failing to touch the base he runs for shall be declared out if the ball be held by a fielder, while touching said base, before the base-runner returns and touches it." Henry Chadwick's gloss on the latter rule stated: ". . . it is only necessary for a fielder to hold the ball on the base, which should have been touched, in order to put the runner out." Eureka! The controversy of over a century is thus resolved, and in favor of Paul Hines and his unassisted triple play. Rewrite the record books! Johnny Neun had read in the morning paper of May 31, 1927, about Jimmy Cooney's unassisted triple play in the National League. As first baseman for the Detroit Tigers, known for his fielding and base stealing, Neun was alert to all possibilities when Homer Summa's line drive landed in his glove. Charlie Jamieson was a dead duck, caught off first and easily tagged for the second out. Shortstop Jackie Tavener was jumping up and down at second base calling for the ball. Slow-footed Glen Myatt was lumbering back from third base. Neun waved his shortstop out of the way and raced toward second base, implausibly shouting, "I'm running into the Hall of Fame." In a nice touch of journalistic enterprise, Sports Illustrated, in 1987, noted that both Jimmy Cooney and Johnny Neun were still alive and arranged for them to talk on the telephone about their unique plays made sixty years earlier. They had been contemporaries but had played in different leagues and had never met. When each had gone back to the minor leagues, they played against each other in the International League but simply passed each other without fraternal comment, despite having shared such an extremely rare experience. They had a very nice talk, and months later, when Jimmy reached his anniversary a day ahead of Johnny, it was Neun who called to extend congratulations. On July 30, 1968, Ron Hansen, playing shortstop for the Washington Senators, made an unassisted triple play, following the process all other shortstops have used. He grabbed a line drive off the bat of Joe Azcue, stepped on second to retire Dave Nelson, and tagged Russ Snyder coming from first. It was the first time the feat had been pulled since 1927, forty-one years earlier. It was the most memorable event of Hansen's week, which was an unusual one in other ways as well. Following his play, he struck out six consecutive times, perhaps still stunned by the event. Then he regained his batting eye to hit a grand-slam home run. His unassisted triple play had been made on a road trip. He could expect applause when he came to bat the first time before hometown Washington fans when the team returned home. But he didn't get this. Instead, he was traded to the White Sox. The first unassisted triple play of the twentieth century was made on July 19, 1909, by a Cleveland shortstop, Neal Ball. Overall Cleveland has been involved in five of the ten unassisted triple plays in the major leagues. Three times the event has taken place there, twice executed by Cleveland players, and in all a Cleveland player has been involved somewhere five times. It all began with Neal Ball, who snagged a liner hit by Boston's Amby McConnell and retired Charley Wagner and Jake Stahl on the basepaths. George Burns, playing for the Boston Red Sox between stints as a member of the Indians, turned the tables for Boston and made Cleveland the victim in 1923. He caught Frank Brower's liner, tagged Rube Lutzke off first, and ran to second to get Riggs Stephenson before he could return. Burns made his play on September 14, and on October 6 another unassisted triple play occurred, making the feat which had been so rare appear almost commonplace, for a while. This time Ernie Padgett, a redheaded shortstop for the Boston Braves, turned the trick. Again the play was made in typical fashion--a line drive, a runner doubled off second base, and a surprised baserunner from first being tagged out. The rare unassisted triple play occurred late in the 1992 season. Rookie second baseman Mickey Morandini of the Philadelphia Phillies made a diving catch of a line drive off the bat of Pittsburgh's Jeff King. Morandini scrambled to second base to double off Andy Van Slyke. Then Barry Bonds, running from first base, bumbled into the surprised second baseman, who pushed him away with a climaxing third-out tag. Unaware of the rarity of his sudden feat, the rookie infielder rolled the ball toward the mound. The ball that was used to make the first play of its kind in the big leagues in twenty-four seasons was put into play the next inning. Unassisted Triple Plays ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Player/Team Date Pos. Opp. Opp. Batter ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Paul Hines, Prov. May 8, 1878 OF Bos. Jack Burdock Neal Ball, Cleve. July 19, 1909 SS Bos. Amby McConnell Bill Wambsganss, Cleve. October 10, 1920 2B Brook. Clarence Mitchell George Burns, Bos. September 14,1923 1B Cleve. Frank Brower Ernie Padgett, Bos. October 6, 1923 SS Phila. Walter Holke Glenn Wright, Pitts. May 7, 1925 SS St.L. Jim Bottomley Jimmy Cooney, Chi. May 30, 1927 SS Pitts. Paul Waner Johnny Neun, Det. May 31, 1927 1B Cleve. Homer Summa Ron Hansen, Wash. July 29, 1968 SS Cleve. Joe Azcue Mickey Morandini, Phi. September 23, 1992 2B Pitt. Jeff King ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The No-Hitters What follows is the traditional honor roll of the 200-plus pitchers who have attained the no-hit heights. Also provided is a list of those handful of ugly-duckling no-hitters that didn't go nine innings, and those 33 games in which a pitcher retired 27 or more batters in succession. Concerning the last-named group, only 13 are officially recognized as perfect games--the rest were deprived of perfection by their fielding support, their stars, or like Dick Bosman, simply themselves. No hit games, nine or more innings (Number to left is career total if greater than one) (Home team is that of pitcher, unless team is in brackets) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Joe Borden, Phi vs. Chi NA, 4-0; July 28, 1875. George Bradley, StL vs. Har NL, 2-0; July 15, 1876. Lee Richmond, Wor vs. Cle NL, 1-0; June 12, 1880 (perfect game). Monte Ward, Pro vs. Buf NL, 5-0; June 17, 1880 (perfect game). Larry Corcoran, Chi vs. Bos NL, 6-0; August 19, 1880. Jim Galvin, Buf vs. [Wor] NL, 1-0; August 20, 1880. Tony Mullane, Lou vs. [Cin] AA, 2-0; September 19, 1882. Guy Hecker, Lou vs. [Pit] AA, 3-1; September 19, 1882 2 Larry Corcoran, Chi vs. Wor NL, 5-0; September 20, 1882 Hoss Radbourn, Pro vs. Cle NL, 8-0; July 25, 1883 Hugh (One Arm). Daily, Cle vs. [Phi] NL, 1-0; September 13, 1883. Al Atkinson, Phi vs. Pit AA, 10-1; May 24, 1884. Ed Morris, Col vs. [Pit] AA, 5-0; May 29, 1884. Frank Mountain, Col vs. [Was] AA, 12-0; June 5, 1884. 3 Larry Corcoran, Chi vs. Pro NL, 6-0; June 27, 1884. 2 Jim Galvin, Buf vs. [Det] NL, 18-0; August 4, 1884. Dick Burns, Cin vs. [KC] UA, 3-1; August 26, 1884. Ed Cushman, Mil vs. Was UA, 5-0; September 28, 1884. Sam Kimber, Bro vs. Tol AA, 0-0; October 4, 1884 (10 innings, tie). John Clarkson, Chi vs. [Pro] NL, 4-0; July 27, 1885. Charlie Ferguson, Phi vs. Pro NL, 1-0; August 29, 1885. 2 Al Atkinson, Phi vs. NY AA, 3-2; May 1, 1886. Adonis Terry, Bro vs. StL AA, 1-0; July 24, 1886. Matt Kilroy, Bal vs. [Pit] AA, 6-0; October 6, 1886. 2 Adonis Terry, Bro vs. Lou AA, 4-0; May 27, 1888. Henry Porter, KC vs. [Bal] AA, 4-0; June 6, 1888. Ed Seward, Phi vs. Cin AA, 12-2; July 26, 1888. Gus Weyhing, Phi vs. KC AA, 4-0; July 31, 1888. Silver King, eight innings, Chi vs. Bro PL, 0-1; June 21, 1890. Cannonball Titcomb, Roch vs. [Syr] AA, 7-0; September 15, 1890. Tom Lovett, Bro vs. NY NL, 4-0; June 22, 1891. Amos Rusie, NY vs. Bro NL, 6-0; July 31, 1891. Ted Breitenstein, StL vs. Lou AA, 8-0; October 4, 1891 (1st game). (first start in the major leagues). Jack Stivetts, Bos vs. Bro NL, 11-0; August 6, 1892. Ben Sanders, Lou vs. Bal NL, 6-2; August 22, 1892. Bumpus Jones, Cin vs. Pit NL, 7-1; October 15, 1892. (first game in the major leagues). Bill Hawke, Bal vs. Was NL, 5-0; August 16, 1893. Cy Young, Cle vs. Cin NL, 6-0; September 18, 1897 (1st game). 2 Ted Breitenstein, Cin vs. Pit NL, 11-0; April 22, 1898. Jim Hughes, Bal vs. Bos NL, 8-0; April 22, 1898. Red Donahue, Phi vs. Bos NL, 5-0; July 8, 1898. Walter Thornton, Chi vs. Bro NL, 2-0; August 21, 1898 (2nd game). Deacon Phillippe, Lou vs. NY NL, 7-0; May 25, 1899. Noodles Hahn, Cin vs. Phi NL, 4-0; July 12, 1900. Earl Moore, Cle vs. Chi AL, 2-4; May 9, 1901 (lost on two hits in 10th). Christy Mathewson, NY vs. [StL] NL, 5-0; July 15, 1901. Jim Callahan, Chi vs. Det AL, 3-0; September 20, 1902 (1st game). Chick Fraser, Phi vs. [Chi] NL, 10-0; September 18, 1903 (2nd game). 2 Cy Young, Bos vs. Phi AL, 3-0; May 5, 1904 (perfect game). Bob Wicker, Chi vs. [NY] NL, 1-0; June 11, 1904. (won in 12 innings after allowing one hit in the 10th). Jesse Tannehill, Bos vs. [Chi] AL, 6-0; August 17, 1904. 2 Christy Mathewson, NY vs. [Chi] NL, 1-0; June 13, 1905. Weldon Henley, Phi vs. [StL] AL, 6-0; July 22, 1905 (1st game). Frank Smith, Chi vs. [Det] AL, 15-0; September 6, 1905 (2nd game). Bill Dinneen, Bos vs. Chi AL, 2-0; September 27, 1905 (1st game). Johnny Lush, Phi vs. [Bro] NL, 6-0; May 1, 1906. Mal Eason, Bro vs. [StL] NL, 2-0; July 20, 1906. Harry McIntyre, Bro vs. Pit NL, 0-1; August 1, 1906. (lost on four hits in 13 innings after allowing first hit in 11th). Frank (Jeff). Pfeffer, Bos vs. Cin NL, 6-0; May 8, 1907. Nick Maddox, Pit vs. Bro NL, 2-1; September 20, 1907. 3 Cy Young, Bos vs. [NY] AL, 8-0; June 30, 1908. Hooks Wiltse, NY vs. Phi NL, 1-0; July 4, 1908 (first game, ten innings). Nap Rucker, Bro vs. Bos NL, 6-0; September 5, 1908 (2nd game). Dusty Rhoades, Cle vs. Bos AL, 2-1; September 18, 1908. 2 Frank Smith, Chi vs. Phi AL, 1-0; September 20, 1908. Addie Joss, Cle vs. Chi AL, 1-0; October 2, 1908 (perfect game). Red Ames, NY vs, Bro NL, 0-3; April 15, 1909. (lost on seven hits in 13 innings after allowing first hit in 10th). 2 Addie Joss, Cle vs. Chi AL, 1-0; April 20, 1910. Chief Bender, Phi vs. Cle AL, 4-0; May 12, 1910. Tom L. Hughes, NY vs. Cle AL, 0-5; August 30, 1910 (2nd game). (lost on seven hits in 11 innings after allowing first hit in 10th). Joe Wood, Bos vs StL AL, 5-0; July 29, 1911 (1st game). Ed Walsh, Chi vs. Bos AL, 5-0; August 27, 1911. George Mullin, Det vs. StL AL, 7-0; July 4, 1912 (2nd game). Earl Hamilton, StL vs. [Det] AL, 5-1; August 30, 1912. Jeff Tesreau, NY vs. [Phi] NL, 3-0; September 6, 1912 (1st game). Jim Scott, Chi vs. [Was] AL, 0-1; May 14, 1914 (lost on 2 two hits in 10th). Joe Benz, Chi vs. Cle Al, 6-1; May 31, 1914. George Davis, Bos vs. Phi NL, 7-0; September 9, 1914 (2nd game). Ed Lafitte, Bro vs. KC FL, 6-2; September 19, 1914. Rube Marquard, NY vs. Bro NL, 2-0; April 15, 1915. Frank Allen, Pit vs. StL FL, 2-0; April 24, 1915 Claude Hendrix, Chi vs. Pit FL, 10-0; May 15, 1915. Alex Main, KC vs Buf FL, 5-0; August 16, 1915. Jimmy Lavender, Chi vs. [NY] NL, 2-0; August 31, 1915 (1st game). Dave Davenport, StL vs. Chi FL, 3-0; September 7, 1915. 2 Tom L. Hughes, Bos vs. Pit NL, 2-0; June 16, 1916. Rube Foster, Bos vs. NY AL, 2-0; June 16, 1916. Joe Bush, Phi vs. Cle AL, 5-0; August 26, 1916. Hubert (Dutch) Leonard, Bos vs. StL AL, 4-0; August 30, 1916 Eddie Cicotte, Chi vs. [StL] AL, 11-0; April 14, 1917. George Mogridge, NY vs. [Bos] AL, 2-1; April 24, 1917. Fred Toney, Cin vs. [Chi] NL, 1-0; May 2, 1917 (10 innings). Hippo Vaughn, Chi vs. Cin NL, 0-1; May 2, 1917. (lost on two hits in 10th; Toney pitched a no-hitter in this game). Ernie Koob, StL vs. Chi AL, 1-0; May 5, 1917. Bob Groom, StL vs. Chi AL, May 6, 1917 (2nd game). Ernie Shore, Bos vs. Was AL, 3-0; June 23, 1917 (1st game). (perfect game). (Shore relieved Babe Ruth in the first inning after Ruth had been thrown out of the game for protesting a walk to the first batter. The runner was caught stealing and Shore retired the remaining 26 batters in order). 2 Hubert (Dutch) Leonard, Bos vs. [Det] AL, 5-0; June 3, 1918. Hod Eller, Cin vs. StL NL, 6-0; May 11, 1919. Ray Caldwell, Cle vs. [NY] AL, 3-0; September 10, 1919 (1st game). Walter Johnson, Was vs. [Bos] AL, 1-0; July 1, 1920. Charlie Robertson, Chi vs. [Det] AL, 2-0; April 30, 1922 (perfect game). Jesse Barnes, NY vs. Phi NL, 6-0; May 7, 1922. Sam Jones, NY vs. [Phi] AL, 2-0; September 4, 1923. Howard Ehmke, Bos vs. [Phi] AL, 4-0; September 7, 1923. Jesse Haines, StL vs Bos NL, 5-0; July 17, 1924. Dazzy Vance, Bro vs. Phi NL, 10-1; September 13, 1925 (1st game). Ted Lyons, Chi vs. [Bos] AL, 6-0; August 21, 1926. Carl Hubbell, NY vs. Pit NL, 11-0; May 8, 1929. Wes Ferrell, Cle vs. StL AL, 9-0; April 29, 1931. Bobby Burke, Was vs. Bos AL, 5-0; August 8, 1931. Bobo Newsom, StL vs Bos AL, 1-2; September 18, 1934 (lost on one hit in 10th). Paul Dean, StL vs. [Bro] NL, 3-0; September 21, 1934 (2nd game). Vern Kennedy, Chi vs. Cle AL, 5-0; August 31, 1935. Bill Dietrich, Chi vs. StL AL, 8-0; June 1, 1937. Johnny Vander Meer, Cin vs. Bos NL, 3-0; June 11, 1938. 2 Johnny Vander Meer, Cin vs. [Bro] NL, 6-0; June 15, 1938 (next start after June 11). Monte Pearson, NY vs. Cle AL, 13-0; August 27, 1938 (2nd game). Bob Feller, Cle vs. [Chi] AL, 1-0; April 16, 1940 (opening day). Tex Carleton, Bro vs. [Cin] NL, 3-0; April 30, 1940. Lon Warneke, StL vs. [Cin] NL, 2-0; August 30, 1941. Jim Tobin, Bos vs. Bro NL, 2-0; April 27, 1944. Clyde Shoun, Cin vs. Bos NL, 1-0; May 15, 1944. Dick Fowler, Phi vs. StL AL, 1-0; September 9, 1945 (2nd game). Ed Head, Bro vs. Bos NL, 5-0; April 23, 1946. 2 Bob Feller, Cle vs. [NY] AL, 1-0; April 30, 1946. Ewell Blackwell, Cin vs. Bos NL, 6-0; June 18, 1947. Don Black, Cle vs. Phi AL, 3-0; July 10, 1947 (1st game). Bill McCahan, Phi vs. Was AL, 3-0; September 3, 1947. Bob Lemon, Cle vs. [Det] AL, 2-0; June 30, 1948. Rex Barney, Bro vs. [NY] NL, 2-0; September 9, 1948. Vern Bickford, Bos vs. Bro NL, 7-0; August 11, 1950. Cliff Chambers, Pit vs. [Bos] NL, 3-0; May 6, 1951 (2nd game). 3 Bob Feller, Cle vs. Det AL, 2-1; July 1, 1951 (1st game). Allie Reynolds, NY vs. [Cle] AL, 1-0; July 12, 1951. 2 Allie Reynolds, NY vs. Bos AL, 8-0; September 28, 1951 (1st game). Virgil Trucks, Det vs. Was AL, 1-0; May 15, 1952. Carl Erskine, Bro vs. Chi NL, 5-0; June 19, 1952. 2 Virgil Trucks, Det vs. [NY] AL, 1-0; August 25, 1952. Bobo Holloman, StL vs. Phi AL, 6-0; May 6, 1953 (first start in the major leagues). Jim Wilson, Mil vs. Phi NL, 2-0; June 12, 1954. Sam Jones, Chi vs Pit NL, 4-0; May 12, 1955. 2 Carl Erskine, Bro vs. NY NL, 3-0; May 12, 1956. Johnny Klippstein (7 innings), Hershell Freeman (1 inning) and Joe Black (3 innings), Cin vs. [Mil] NL, 1-2; May 26, 1956. (lost on three hits in 11 innings after allowing first hit in 10th). Mel Parnell, Bos vs. Chi AL, 4-0; July 14, 1956. Sal Maglie, Bro vs. Phi NL, 5-0; September 25, 1956. Don Larsen, NY AL vs. Bro NL, 2-0; October 8, 1956. (World Series). (perfect game). Bob Keegan, Chi vs. Was AL, 6-0; August 20, 1957 (2nd game). Jim Bunning, Det vs. [Bos] AL, 3-0; July 20, 1958 (1st game). Hoyt Wilhelm, Bal vs. NY AL, 1-0; September 20, 1958. Harvey Haddix, Pit vs. [Mil] NL, 0-1; May 26, 1959 (lost on one hit in 13 innings after pitching 12 perfect innings). Don Cardwell, Chi vs. StL NL, 4-0; May 15, 1960 (2nd game). Lew Burdette, Mil vs. Phi NL, 1-0; August 18, 1960. Warren Spahn, Mil vs. Phi NL, 4-0; September 16, 1960. 2 Warren Spahn, Mil vs. SF NL, 1-0; April 28, 1961. Bo Belinsky, LA vs. Bal AL, 2-0; May 5, 1962. Earl Wilson, Bos vs. LA Al, 2-0; June 26, 1962. Sandy Koufax, LA vs. NY NL, 5-0; June 30, 1962. Bill Monbouquette, Bos vs. [Chi] AL, 1-0; August 1, 1962. Jack Kralick, Min vs. KC AL, 1-0; August 26, 1962. 2 Sandy Koufax, LA vs. SF NL, 8-0; May 11, 1963. Don Nottebart, Hou vs. Phi NL, 4-1; May 17, 1963. Juan Marichal, SF vs. Hou NL, 1-0; June 15, 1963. Ken T. Johnson, Hou vs. Cin NL, 0-1; April 23, 1964 (lost game). 3 Sandy Koufax, LA vs. [Phi] NL, 3-0; June 4, 1964. 2 Jim Bunning, Phi vs. [NY] NL, 6-0; June 21, 1964 (1st game; perfect game). Jim Maloney, Cin vs. NY NL, 0-1; June 14, 1965 (lost on two hits in 11 innings after pitching 10 hitless innings). Jim Maloney, Cin vs. [Chi] NL, 1-0; August 19, 1965 (1st game; 10 innings). 4 Sandy Koufax, LA vs. Chi NL, 1-0; September 9, 1965 (perfect game). Dave Morehead, Bos vs. Cle AL, 2-0; September 16, 1965. Sonny Siebert, Cle vs. Was AL, 2-0; June 10, 1966. Steve D. Barber (8 2/3 innings). and Stu Miller (1/3 inning) Bal vs. Det AL, 1-2; April 30, 1967 (1st game; lost game). Don Wilson, Hou vs. Atl NL, 2-0; June 18, 1967. Dean Chance, Min vs. [Cle] AL, 2-1; August 25, 1967 (2nd game). Joe Horlen, Chi vs. Det AL, 6-0; September 10, 1967 (1st game). Tom Phoebus, Bal vs. Bos AL, 6-0; April 27, 1968. Catfish Hunter, Oak vs. Min AL, 4-0; May 8, 1968 (perfect game). George Culver, Cin vs. [Phi] NL, 6-1; July 29, 1968 (2nd game). Gaylord Perry, SF vs. StL NL, 1-0; Sept. 17, 1968. Ray Washburn, StL vs. [SF] NL, 2-0; September 18, 1968. Bill Stoneman, Mon vs. [Phi] NL, 7-0; April 17, 1969. 3 Jim Maloney, Cin vs. Hou NL, 10-0; April 30, 1969. 2 Don Wilson, Hou vs. [Cin] NL, 4-0; May 1, 1969. Jim Palmer, Bal vs. Oak AL, 8-0; August 13, 1969. Ken Holtzman, Chi vs. Atl NL, 3-0; August 19, 1969. Bob Moose, Pit vs. [NY] NL, 4-0; September 20, 1969. Dock Ellis, Pit vs. [SD] NL, 2-0; June 12, 1970 (1st game). Clyde Wright, Cal vs. Oak AL, 4-0; July 3, 1970. Bill Singer, LA vs. Phi NL, 5-0; July 20, 1970. Vida Blue, Oak vs. Min AL, 6-0; September 21, 1970. 2 Ken Holtzman, Chi vs. [Cin] NL, 1-0; June 3, 1971. Rick Wise, Phi vs. [Cin] NL, 4-0; June 23, 1971. Bob Gibson, StL vs. [Pit] NL, 11-0; August 14, 1971. Burt Hooton, Chi vs. Phi NL, 4-0; April 16, 1972. Milt Pappas, Chi vs. SD NL, 8-0; September 2, 1972. 2 Bill Stoneman, Mon vs. NY NL, 7-0; October 2, 1972 (1st game). Steve Busby, KC vs. [Det] AL, 3-0; April 27, 1973. Nolan Ryan, Cal vs. [KC] AL, 3-0; May 15, 1973. 2 Nolan Ryan, Cal vs. [Det] AL, 6-0; July 15, 1973. Jim Bibby, Tex vs. [Oak] AL, 6-0; July 20, 1973. Phil Niekro, Atl vs. SD NL, 9-0; August 5, 1973. 2 Steve Busby, KC vs. [Mil] AL, 2-0; June 19, 1974. Dick Bosman, Cle vs. Oak AL, 4-0; July 19, 1974. 3 Nolan Ryan, Cal vs. Min AL, 4-0; September 28, 1974 4 Nolan Ryan, Cal vs. Bal AL, 1-0; June 1, 1975. Ed Halicki, SF vs. NY NL, 6-0; August 24, 1975 (2nd game). Vida Blue (5 innings), Glenn Abbott (1 inning), Paul Lindblad (1 inning), and Rollie Fingers (2 innings), Oak vs. Cal AL, 5-0; September 28, 1975. Larry Dierker, Hou vs. Mon NL, 5-0; July 9, 1976. Blue Moon Odom (5 innings) and Francisco Barrios (4 innings), Chi vs. [Oak] AL, 6-0; July 28, 1976. John Candelaria, Pit vs. LA NL, 2-0; August 9, 1976. John Montefusco, SF vs. [Atl] NL, 9-0; September 29, 1976. Jim Colborn, KC vs. Tex AL, 6-0; May 14, 1977. Dennis Eckersley, Cle vs. Cal AL, 1-0; May 30, 1977. Bert Blyleven, Tex vs. [Cal] AL, 6-0; September 22, 1977. Bob Forsch, StL vs. Phi NL, 5-0; April 16, 1978. Tom Seaver, Cin vs. StL NL, 4-0; June 16, 1978. Ken Forsch, Hou vs. AtL NL, 6-0; April 7, 1979. Jerry Reuss, LA vs. [SF] NL, 8-0; June 27, 1980. Charlie Lea, Mon vs. SF NL, 4-0; May 10, 1981 (2nd game). Len Barker, Cle vs. Tor AL, 3-0; May 15, 1981 (perfect game). 5 Nolan Ryan, Hou vs. LA NL, 5-0; September 26, 1981. Dave Righetti, NY vs. Bos AL, 4-0; July 4, 1983. 2 Bob Forsch, StL vs. Mon NL, 3-0; September 26, 1983. Mike Warren, Oak vs. Chi AL, 3-0; September 29, 1983. Jack Morris, Det vs. [Chi] AL, 4-0; April 7, 1984. Mike Witt, Cal vs. [Tex] AL, 1-0; September 30, 1984 (perfect game). Joe Cowley, Chi vs. [Cal] AL, 7-1; September 19, 1986. Mike Scott, Hou vs. SF NL, 2-0; September 25, 1986. Juan Nieves, Mil vs. Bal AL, 7-0; April 15, 1987. Tom Browning, Cin vs. LA NL, 1-0; September 16, 1988 (perfect game). Mark Langston (7 innings) and Mike Witt (2 innings), Cal vs Sea AL, 1-0; April 11, 1990. Randy Johnson, Sea vs Det AL, 2-0; June 2, 1990. 6 Nolan Ryan, Tex at Oak AL, 5-0; June 11, 1990. Dave Stewart, Oak at Tor AL, 5-0; June 29, 1990. Fernando Valenzuela, LA vs StL NL, 6-0; June 29, 1990. Andy Hawkins, NY at Chi AL, 0-4; July 1, 1990 (8 innings, lost the game). Terry Mulholland, Phi vs SF NL, 6-0; August 15, 1990. Dave Stieb, Tor at Det AL, 3-0; September 2, 1990. 7 Nolan Ryan, Tex vs Tor AL. 3-0; May 1, 1991 Tommy Greene, Phi vs Mont NL, 2-0; May 23, 1991. Bob Milacki, Bal (6 Innings), Mike Flanagan (1 Inning), Mark Williamson (1 Inning), Gregg Olson (1 inning) vs Oak AL, 2-0; July 13, 1991. Mark Gardner, Mont vs LA NL, 0-1; July 26.1991 (9 innings. lost game In 10th). Dennis Martinez, Mont vs LA NL, 2-0; July 28,1991 (perfect game). Wilson Alvarez, Chi vs Balt AL. 7-0; August 11, 1991. Bret Saberhagen, KC vs Chi AL, 7-0; August 26,1991. Kent Mercker (6 innings), Mark Wahlers (2 Innings), Alejandro Pena (1 Inning), Atl vs SD NL. 1-0; September 11, 1991. Matt Young, Bos vs Cle AL, 1-2; April 12, 1992 (8 innings, lost game). Kevin Gross, LA vs SF NL, 2-0; August 17, 1992. Chris Bosio, Sea vs Bos AL, 7-0; April 22, 1993 Jim Abbott, NY vs Cle AL, 4-0; September 4, 1993 Darryl Kile, Hou vs NY NL, 7-1; September 8, 1993 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No hit games, fewer than nine innings (Home team is that of pitcher, unless team is in [brackets]) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Larry McKeon, six innings, Ind vs. [Cin] AA, 0-0; May 6, 1884. Charlie Gagus, eight innings, Was vs. Wil UA, 12-1; August 21, 1884. Charlie Getzien, six innings, Det vs. Phi NL, 1-0; October 1, 1884. Charlie Sweeney (3 innings) and Henry Boyle (2 innings), five innings, StL vs. StP U.A., 0-1; October 5, 1884. Dupee Shaw, five innings, Pro vs. [Buf] NL, 4-0; October 7, 1885 (1st game). George Van Haltren, six innings, Chi vs. Pit NL, 1-0; June 21, 1888. Cannonball Crane, seven innings, NY vs. Was NL, 3-0; September 27, 1888. Matt Kilroy, seven innings, Bal vs. StL AA, 0-0; July 29, 1889 (2nd game). George Nicol, seven innings, StL vs. Phi AA, 21-2; September 23, 1890. Hank Gastright, eight innings, Col vs. Tol AA, 6-0; October 12, 1890. Jack Stivetts, five innings, Bos vs. [Was] NL, 6-0; October 15, 1892 (2nd game). Icebox Chamberlain, seven innings, Cin vs. Bos NL, 6-0; September 23, 1893 (2nd game). Ed Stein, six innings, Bro vs. Chi NL, 6-0; June 2, 1894. Red Ames, five innings, NY vs. [StL] NL, 5-0; September 14, 1903 (2nd game). Rube Waddell, five innings, Phi vs. StL AL, 2-0; August 15, 1905. Jake Weimer, seven innings, Cin vs. Bro NL, 1-0; August 24, 1906 (2nd game). Jimmy Dygert (3 innings) and Rube Waddell (2 innings), five innings, Phi vs. Chi AL, 4-3; August 29, 1906. Stoney McGlynn, seven innings, StL vs. [Bro] NL, 1-1; September 24, 1906 (2nd game). Lefty Leifield, six innings, Pit vs. [Phi] NL, 8-0; September 26, 1906, (2nd game). Ed Walsh, five innings, Chi vs. NY AL, 8-1; May 26, 1907. Ed Karger, seven perfect innings, StL vs. Bos NL, 4-0; August 11, 1907 (2nd game). Howie Camnitz, five innings, Pit vs. NY NL, 1-0; August 23, 1907 (2nd game). Rube Vickers, five perfect innings, Phi vs. [Was] AL, 4-0; October 5, 1907 (2nd game). Johnny Lush, six innings, StL vs. [Bro] NL, 2-0; August 6, 1908. King Cole, seven innings, Chi vs. [StL] NL, 4-0; July 31, 1910 (2nd game). Jay Cashion, six innings, Was vs. Cle AL, 2-0; August 20, 1910 (2nd game). Walter Johnson, seven innings, Was vs. StL Al, 2-0; August 25, 1910. Fred Frankhouse, seven and two-thirds innings, Bro vs. Cin NL, 5-0; August 27, 1937. John Whitehead, six innings, StL vs. Det AL, 4-0; August 5, 1940 (2nd game). Jim Tobin, five innings, Bos vs. Phi NL, 7-0; June 22, 1944 (2nd game). Mike McCormick, five innings, SF vs. [Phi] NL, 3-0; June 12, 1959. Sam Jones, seven innings, SF vs. [StL] NL, 4-0; September 26, 1959. Dean Chance, five perfect innings, Min vs. Bos AL, 2-0; August 6, 1967. Dave Palmer, five perfect innings, Mon vs. [StL] NL, 4-0; April 21, 1984 (2nd game). Pascual Perez, five innings, Mon vs. [Phi] NL, 1-0; September 24, 1988. Melido Perez, five innings, rain, Chi at NY AL, 8-0; July 12, 1990. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Perfection Plus ============================================================================== Year Pitcher Batters Opponent Notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1959 Harvey Haddix 36 Milwaukee (12 innings) 1919 Waite Hoyt 34 Yanks (2nd-13th inning) 1880 Pud Galvin 33 Worcester (6 errors) 1884 Charlie Buffinton 32 Providence (5 errors) 1971 Rick Wise 32 Chicago (2nd-12th inning) 1908 Nap Rucker 30 Braves (3 errors) 1885 John Clarkson 29 Providence (3 errors, 1 DP) 1970 Bill Singer 29 Philadelphia (2 errors, both his own) 1883 Hoss Radbourn 28 Cleveland (1 error) 1884 Pud Galvin 28 Detroit (1 error) 1905 Christy Mathewson 28 Cubs (2 errors, 1 DP) 1910 Tom Hughes 28 Cleveland (1 error) 1920 Walter Johnson 28 Red Sox (1 error) 1947 Bill McCahan 28 Washington (1 error) 1967 Joel Horlen 28 Detroit (1 error) 1974 Dick Bosman 28 Oakland (1 error, his own) 1980 Jerry Reuss 28 San Francisco (1 error) 1880 J.L. Richmond 27 Cleveland 1880 J.M. Ward 27 Buffalo 1904 Cy Young 27 Philadelphia 1906 Lefty Leifield 27 Cubs (8 innings, 3 errors) 1908 Addie Joss 27 White Sox 1922 Charlie Robertson 27 Detroit 1953 Curt Simmons 27 [*] Milwaukee 1956 Don Larsen 27 Brooklyn 1964 Jim Bunning 27 Mets 1965 Sandy Koufax 27 Cubs 1968 Catfish Hunter 27 Minnesota 1981 Len Barker 27 Toronto 1984 Mike Witt 27 Texas 1988 Tom Browning 27 Los Angeles 1991 Dennis Martinez 27 Los Angeles 1954 Robin Roberts 27 [*] Cincinnati 1981 Jim Bibby 27 [*] Atlanta 1917 Ernie Shore 26 [**] Washington ============================================================================== * Retired last twenty-seven batters in a row after giving up a hit to leadoff man. ** Starter Babe Ruth walked the first man and promptly slugged the umpire in the jaw and was banished. Ernie Shore rushed in from the bull pen, got the runner on a steal attempt, and retired the next twenty-six. Note: Hooks Wiltse in 1908 and Lew Burdette in 1960 missed perfection because each hit a batter, with Wiltse hitting the last batter--the opposing pitcher--with an 0-2 count.