Of course, Darvish isn't the only pitcher to come close. Take a look at any pitcher who's thrown a no-hitter. They were denied their shot at immortality through walks, errors, hit by pitch, maybe even a strikeout pitch that got away from the catcher. And then there are the pitchers like Darvish, who have the hitters confounded until the ninth inning, even until the final batter. And one good swing, one misplay from a fielder and their dream is shattered, their performance was excellent, but not special, not perfect.
In history, there have been ten perfect games broken up with two outs in the ninth, an extraordinary stat when you consider there have only been 23 perfect games. For a fan, there is nothing more tense than the ninth inning of a perfect game - I sat wringing my hands as Felix Hernandez finished off his perfecto last August - so you can only imagine the pressure on the pitcher. When that 27th batter reaches, there is a moment of despair, of regret, but ultimately there is the wry smile and the shake of the head. What can you do?
So, looking back at those ten near perfectos, there are some really interesting cases. The oldest 26-out perfect game was in 1908, when George 'Hooks' Wiltse retired 26 Philadelphia Phillies before plunking their pitcher George McQuillan on a 2-2 count. Extraordinarily, the game was knotted at 0-0, and it was not until the 10th when Wiltse received a run of support and he ended up with a 10 inning no-hitter. Umpire Cy Rigler later admitted he should have called strike three on the 1-2 pitch to McQuillan, but alas Wiltse was forced to throw another, fateful pitch that cannoned into his opposite number.
Tommy Bridges came within one out of perfection in 1932, when Senators pinch hitter Dave Harris replaced the pitcher and lined a single into the outfield to break up the perfect game. It wouldn't be the last time Bridges took a no-hitter into the ninth only to lose it, doing the same thing the following season, again against the Senators. Bridges career was an astonishing one all-in-all, as he started his career retiring Babe Ruth, took a no-hitter and perfect game into the ninth, pitched a complete game in game 6 of the 1935 World Series, served in the army in the second World War before returning to baseball and winning another championship in 1945.
Billy Pierce also had a 26 out perfect game in 1958, against (who else) the Washington Senators. Pinch hitter Ed Fitz Gerald lined a double that fell fair by about a foot to break up the moment of history, the performance that would have been the first perfect game by a left hander since 1880. Pierce is somewhat of a White Sox legend, owning the franchise record for career strikeouts and making the all-star team seven times. His piece of immortality was ruined in 1958 however, when the first pitch curveball was sent flying the other way.
Milt Pappas fell one out shy of a perfect game on September 2nd 1972 against the San Diego Padres, when two close pitches on a 2-2 count to pinch hitter Larry Stahl were both called balls and he was forced to settle for a no-hitter. Pappas felt that both pitches should have been called strikes, and even decades later he has begrudged home plate umpire Bruce Froemming for those calls.
His namesake, Milt Wilcox came within one out of a perfect game on April 15, 1983 when pinch hitter Jerry Hairston Sr. lined a single to break up both the perfecto and no-no. The opposing manager on that day, Tony LaRussa was the man who had sent Hairston in to bat, and the man who made a career from clutch pinch hits tallied another one with a lined hit up the middle. Wilcox wasn't a future hall-of-famer, in fact he wasn't even the ace of the rotation. He was a number three who chewed up some effective innings for Detroit but had his moment of history stolen from him in 1983.
In 1988, Ron Robinson of the Cincinatti Reds had his shot at perfection stolen at the final hurdle when a 2-2 curve was lined into left field by pinch hitter Wallace Johnson. To make this disappointment worse, the next hitter would crank a home run and Robinson would be unable to finish the game, never to pitch a shutout in his career. "I think if I get that curveball down, I could have gotten it," Robinson said, "I'm really just glad to get the victory."
The next near perfecto would come just a year later, when 32 year old Dave Stieb struck out the first two hitters he faced in the ninth inning before giving up a two out double to Roberto Kelly. Stieb's no-hitter history is incredible. In 1985 he took a no hitter into the ninth inning before allowing back-to-back home runs and being removed from the game. Extraordinarily, in 1988 he had a no hitter with two outs in the ninth in back to back starts. On both occasions he took the hitter to two strikes, and on both occasions his heart was broken by a base hit. Fortunately, on September 2nd 1990, he finally got the job done, throwing the first (and, to date, only) no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history.
The next near perfecto was an extraordinary one. Brian Holman was pitching a gem on April 20th 1990, retiring the first 26 hitters he faced before Ken Phelps laced not just a hit, but a home run into right field. With one hit, Holman lost the perfect game, the no hitter and even the shutout. That turned out to be the final home run of Phelps' career, and Holman was never able to reach the same heights, having almost pitched the first no hitter in Seattle Mariners history, and against the World Champion Athletics too.
We come much closer to the present day for our next near-perfect game, and it was a performance that perhaps some of you remember. Mike Mussina retired the first 26 Boston Red Sox that came to the plate, before pinch hitter Carl Everett managed to bloop a 1-2 pitch into left field and ruin the chance at perfection. The performance is widely regarded as one of the most dominant in Yankees history, and it wasn't the first time Mussina flirted with perfection, havign retired the first 23 hitters he faced in 1998 against Detroit before giving up a double.
Perhaps the most infamous near perfecto was Armando Galarraga's. His name is now synonymous with his June 2nd 2010 performance in which the little-known right hander masterfully retired the first 26 hitters, and with just his 83rd pitch he induced a groundball to the right hand side. Miguel Cabrera fielded the ball well, steadied himself and threw to the covering Galarraga, only to find umpire Jim Joyce had ruled Jason Donald safe. On the field there was outrage from all - all except Galarraga, who smiled to himself - and upon instant replay it became clear that Joyce had blown the call and Donald had been out. The perfect game had been stolen from Galarraga in the cruelest way possible, and even today, some call it the '28 out perfect game'. Galarraga's reaction, both after the play when he had just a wry smile and after the game when he refused to blame Joyce, saying (ironically) 'nobody's perfect', drew plenty of praise, and Joyce's tearful apology made what could have been an ugly situation one that exemplified all that is great about sport.
And of course,the most recent near perfect game happened on April 2nd, when Yu Darvish ran through the Astros for 8.2 innings before a first pitch fastball was sent between his legs by Marwin Gonzalez. At the age of 26, Yu has plenty of time to try and give himself another opportunity, and personally I don't think he'll look back at this game at the end of his career with regret. As it is, 26 out perfect games have become something of a legend in baseball history. Perfect games are only so rare, and so hard, because it is so easy for one to slip from a pitcher's grip.
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