In sports like gymnastics and figure skating, participants receive perfect scores from judges when they are believed to have performed the “perfect” routine. Many wonder if anyone can actually be perfect. Surely these participants could have nailed their landing better, or done something to make the routine even better.
In baseball, perfection comes few and far between and can only be measured by the numbers in the scorecard. On October 8, 1956, Don Larsen was just that. He was perfect. On a cool Autumn day at Yankee Stadium, Larsen and his pinstriped mates took the field against their rival Brooklyn Dodgers. After 97 seemingly effortless pitches, Larsen had mowed down the Dodgers 27 straight times and tallied a perfect game.
After an 18-player trade in December of 1954, Larsen began his career with the New York Yankees. He played 13 seasons, compiled a modest 81-91 record and 3.78 ERA, pitched in four World Series, had an impressive .242 average, and hit 14 home runs. Among all his statistics and accomplishments, Don Larsen will always be known as being “perfect,” even if it was only for a day.