On Wednesday, May 8, 1968, Jim "Catfish" Hunter of the Oakland Athletics pitched the ninth

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

history, defeating the Minnesota Twins 4-0 at

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home ba ...

. The game was not televised. Hunter struck out 11 batters, including the last two batters he faced:

Bruce Look Bruce Michael Look (born June 9, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and catcher who appeared in 59 games played in Major League Baseball as a member of the Minnesota Twins. The native of Lansing, Michigan, threw right-h ...

and pinch-hitter Rich Reese. He also struck out

Harmon Killebrew Harmon Clayton Killebrew Jr. (; June 29, 1936May 17, 2011), nicknamed "The Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. He was a prolific power hitter who spent most of hi ...

all three times the two future Hall-of-Famers faced each other. Only two batters got to a three-ball count:

Tony Oliva Tony Pedro Oliva (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique; July 20, 1938) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right fielder and designated hitter for the Minneso ...

in the second inning, who reached a 3–0 count before striking out, and pinch hitter Rich Reese, who fouled off five consecutive 3–2 pitches before striking out to end the game. Hunter relied mostly on his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

during the game, only disagreeing with catcher

Jim Pagliaroni James Vincent "Pag" Pagliaroni (December 8, 1937 – April 3, 2010) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1955 to 1969 for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics and ...

's pitch-calling decisions twice. As a measure of his appreciation for his catcher's contribution to the perfect game, Hunter rewarded Pagliaroni with a gold watch that he had inscribed on back. Only 6,298 fans showed up for the evening contest, which is the smallest attendance to watch any MLB perfect game. The perfect game was the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

's first regular season perfect game since

Charlie Robertson's perfect game On Sunday, April 30, 1922, in a game between the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers, Charlie Robertson pitched the fifth perfect game in Major League Baseball history. Robertson, pitching for the White Sox, retired all 27 batters he faced. The ...

in 1922, as well as the first no-hitter in the Athletics' Oakland history, which was in only its 25th game after the franchise had moved from Kansas City, Missouri, its home from 1955 to 1967. Bill McCahan had pitched the Athletics' last no-hitter in 1947; the franchise was then based in

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. One of the best hitting pitchers of his time, Hunter also helped his own cause by batting in three of the four Oakland runs. In the bottom of the seventh inning, his bunt single scored

Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...

to break a scoreless tie. One inning later, with the Athletics leading 2–0, he singled to score Pagliaroni and Monday. As of 2017, Hunter is the youngest pitcher to pitch a modern-era perfect game, at 22 years, 30 days old.

Boxscore

References

External links

Boxscore of Catfish Hunter's perfect game
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Catfish perfect game 1968 Major League Baseball season Oakland Athletics 20th century in Oakland, California 1968 in sports in California Major League Baseball perfect games May 1968 sports events in the United States Sports competitions in Oakland, California