Immortality can be achieved — at least in baseball.
Major League Baseball is home to all sorts of rare and Herculean feats, but arguably none more legendary than a perfect game. Since 1876 — the first year of what we now know as the National League — there have been over 237,000 baseball games played. Only 24 times has a perfect game been thrown.
Break that down: 0.01 percent of MLB games in the sport's history have been pure perfection. Only 214 innings of more than 4 million thrown.
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Here's what you need to know about perfect games, their frequency and other factoids surrounding them:
What is a perfect game in baseball?
A perfect game happens when a starting pitcher faces the minimum amount of batters in a game, which would be 27. No batter can reach base on a hit, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a dropped third strike, an error or otherwise. In its simplest terms: 27 up and 27 down.
By definition, a perfect game also has to go at least nine innings, so weather-shortened games or those that don't go the full nine for any other reason do not officially count as perfect games.
Difference between no-hitter and perfect game
A perfect game only occurs when the pitcher doesn't allow a single baserunner in the game, as in 27 batters up and 27 batters retired.
As long as there's a "0" in the box score next to hits, then it's a no-hitter. That said, in a no-hitter, hitters are allowed to reach base by walk, hit-by-pitch, error, fielder's choice and so forth. In a perfect game, no baserunners can reach. Every perfect game is a no-hitter, but not every no-hitter is a perfect game.
Among the more intriguing examples of this is Edwin Jackson's 2010 no-hitter for the Diamondbacks. The right-hander held his former team, the Rays, without a hit in a 1-0 victory, but he walked eight batters, hit another, and saw one more reach on an error. Far from perfect, but still a no-hitter.
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How many perfect games in MLB history?
In total, there have been 24 perfect games thrown in MLB history. Of the 24 perfect games, 22 have occurred in MLB's modern era (since 1901). All 24 games have been started and finished by the same pitcher, so unlike some no-hitters, there have been no combined perfect games.
Of the pitchers who have thrown a perfect game, only seven have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, adding a certain element of randomness to who throws perfectos.
Last perfect game
The most recent perfect game was thrown by Yankees starter Domingo German against the Athletics in Oakland on June 28, 2023.
Prior to German's perfect game, the last perfect game thrown was by Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, twirling a perfecto vs. the Rays on Aug. 15, 2012. That was one of the longest gaps between perfect games in MLB history.
MLB perfect games list
Here's the complete list of perfect games since 1876, the first year of the National League.
| Date | Pitcher | Team | Opponent | Pitches/K |
| June 12, 1880 | Lee Richmond | Worcester Worcesters | Cleveland Blues | NA/5 |
| June 17, 1880 | John Mongtomery Ward | Providence Grays | Buffalo Bisons | NA/5 |
| May 5, 1904 | Cy Young | Boston Americans | Philadelphia Athletics | NA/8 |
| Oct. 2, 1908 | Addie Joss | Cleveland Naps | Chicago White Sox | 74/3 |
| April 30, 1922 | Charlie Robertson | Chicago White Sox | Detroit Tigers | 90/6 |
| Oct. 8, 1956 | Don Larsen | New York Yankees | Brooklyn Dodgers | 97/7 |
| June 21, 1964 | Jim Bunning | Philadelphia Phillies | New York Mets | 90/10 |
| Sept. 9, 1965 | Sandy Koufax | Los Angeles Dodgers | Chicago Cubs | 113/14 |
| May 8, 1968 | Catfish Hunter | Oakland Athletics | Minnesota Twins | 107/11 |
| May 15, 1981 | Len Barker | Cleveland | Toronto Blue Jays | 103/11 |
| Sept. 30, 1984 | Mike Witt | California Angels | Texas Rangers | 94/10 |
| Sept. 16, 1988 | Tom Browning | Cincinnati Reds | Los Angeles Dodgers | 100/7 |
| July 28, 1991 | Dennis Martinez | Montreal Expos | Los Angeles Dodgers | 95/5 |
| July 28, 1994 | Kenny Rogers | Texas Rangers | California Angels | 98/8 |
| May 17, 1998 | David Wells | New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins | 120/11 |
| July 18, 1999 | David Cone | New York Yankees | Montreal Expos | 88/10 |
| May 18, 2004 | Randy Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | Atlanta Braves | 117/13 |
| July 23, 2009 | Mark Buehrle | Chicago White Sox | Tampa Bay Rays | 116/6 |
| May 9, 2010 | Dallas Braden | Oakland Athletics | Tampa Bay Rays | 109/6 |
| May 29, 2010 | Roy Halladay | Philadelphia Phillies | Florida Marlins | 115/11 |
| April 21, 2012 | Philip Humber | Chicago White Sox | Seattle Mariners | 96/6 |
| June 13, 2012 | Matt Cain | San Francisco Giants | Houston Astros | 125/14 |
| Aug. 15, 2012 | Felix Hernandez | Seattle Mariners | Tampa Bay Rays | 113/12 |
| June 28, 2023 | Domingo German | New York Yankees | Oakland Athletics | 99/9 |
There are some other notes regarding perfect games:
Most pitches thrown in a perfect game: Matt Cain, 125
Fewest pitches thrown in a perfect game: Addie Joss, 74
Team with most perfect games: New York Yankees (Four)
Most perfect games in a season: Three in 2012 (Philip Humber, Matt Cain, Felix Hernandez)
Teams with most perfect games thrown against: Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays (Three)
Lefty vs. Righty perfect games: 8 LHP vs. 16 RHP
Longest stretch without a perfect game: April 30, 1922 (Charlie Robertson) to October 8, 1956 (Don Larsen)
Postseason perfect games: Don Larsen is the only pitcher to have thrown a perfect game in the postseason, with a perfecto vs. the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.