Perfection.It's a rare concept in the game of baseball, where even the best hitters make outs six out of every 10 times at bat. This is a game that's built on failure, where the little blips that you can't control come back to bite you, where fractions of an inch can determine the difference between a fly out and a home run. So whenever someone flirts with perfection -- whether it be something like Josh Hamilton's four home run evening, a jaw drawing catch, or a perfect game -- it captures the imagination. If that is possible, well, what isn't?
Last night, Matt Cain set the standard for perfection. Not only did he pitch the 22nd perfect game in major league history, but he did so with incredible style: no hits, no walks, and 14 strikeouts. His game score was 101, making him only the ninth pitcher in MLB history to post a game score above 100 in a nine inning game. His performance also ties Sandy Koufax for the best performance during a perfect game, as Koufax also struck out 14 during his 1965 perfect game.
It doesn't get much better than that. I'm incredibly disappointed that I didn't stay up late enough to catch the game, but thankfully that's what MLB.tv replay is for. Or if you prefer, here's a condensed version of the game:
- Grant Brisbee has a list of 50 awesome things about the game over at McCovey Chronicles. It's Brisbee, so it's definitely worth checking out.
- It sure feels good to have something else distract and overshadow Dickey's night, eh?
- On a slightly unrelated note, this interview with Zack Greinke was one of my favorite reads of the day. You rarely hear players get this blunt or truthful; I love it.