Cy Young Denton True "Cy" Young (March 29, 1867 – November 4, 1955) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered th ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Boston Americans The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, pitched a

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 ...

against the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

by retiring all 27 batters he faced on Thursday, May 5, 1904. This event took place in the Huntington Avenue Grounds in Boston, Massachusetts, in front of 10,267 fans. After Athletics' pitcher

Rube Waddell George Edward Waddell (October 13, 1876 – April 1, 1914) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-hander, he played for 13 years, with the Louisville Colonels, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Orphans in the National ...

defeated Young on April 25 and one-hit Boston on May 2, Waddell taunted Young to face him so that he could repeat his performance against Boston's ace. Three days later, Young pitched a

against Waddell and the Athletics. The third perfect game in

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, Young's perfect game was the first in baseball's modern era and in

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 ...

history.

Background

Before Young, only two pitchers had thrown perfect games. Both occurred in 1880, when Lee Richmond and John Ward pitched perfect games within five days of each other, although under different rules from modern ones: the front edge of the pitcher's box was only from home plate (the modern release point is about farther away); walks required eight balls; and pitchers were obliged to throw side-armed. Young's perfect game was the first under the modern rules established in 1893. Over 10,000 fans attended the May 5 game, as the

hosted the

, specifically because of the pitching matchup of Boston's Young and

of the Athletics. Waddell had outdueled Young on April 25, and then defeated the Americans, who challenged Waddell with

Jesse Tannehill Jesse Niles Tannehill (July 14, 1874 – September 22, 1956) was a dead-ball era left-handed pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Highlanders, Boston Red Sox, and the Washington Senators. Tannehill was among the best pit ...

, as Waddell threw a one-hitter. Leading up to his rematch against Young, Waddell took to baiting Young in the press.Browning, p. 143 During the game, Waddell allowed at least one hit to every Boston batter, except for Young. Meanwhile, Boston's fielders, including

Chick Stahl Charles Sylvester "Chick" Stahl (January 10, 1873 – March 28, 1907) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball who was among the most feared and consistent hitters in his time. Stahl was an active major-league player when he committed ...

Patsy Dougherty Patrick Henry "Patsy" Dougherty (October 27, 1876 – April 30, 1940) was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1902 to 1911. He played for the Boston Americans (now the Boston Red Sox), the New York Highlanders (now the New York Yankees), and ...

, and

Buck Freeman John Frank "Buck" Freeman (October 30, 1871 – June 25, 1949) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball at the turn of the 20th century. Listed at and , he both batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was one of the top sluggers of ...

, made excellent defensive plays behind Young. By the sixth inning, teammates began to avoid Young in between innings, following a long-standing tradition in baseball not to talk to a pitcher who was in the midst of pitching a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. The crowd cheered loudly in the ninth inning, as Young completed the

by retiring

Monte Cross Montford Montgomery Cross (August 31, 1869 – June 21, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball player. He played fifteen seasons in the majors, between and , for five different teams. Baseball career Cross played most of his career in ...

Ossee Schreckengost Ossee Freeman Schreckengost (April 11, 1875 – July 9, 1914), born F. Osee Schrecongost, was an American professional baseball catcher and first baseman. He played for seven Major League Baseball (MLB) teams between 1897 and 1908. Between 190 ...

, and finally Waddell. After retiring Waddell, Young shouted, "How do you like that, you hayseed?" The game ended in one hour and 23 minutes. Young had a streak of 45 scoreless

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, which incorporated his perfect game. The streak began in the second inning of a game against Philadelphia on April 25, 1904, and continued through May 17, 1904.Browning, pp. 141-142 In addition to his perfect game, Young made scoreless appearances on April 30 and May 11, and added seven more scoreless innings to his streak before allowing runs to the

Cleveland Naps The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

in the eighth inning of the May 17 game. This set a then-

(MLB) record.Browning, p. 142 Young also set an MLB record for the most consecutive innings pitched without allowing a hit, which lasted innings, or 76 hitless batters. While

Orel Hershiser Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1983 to 2000. He later became a pitching coach for the Texas Rangers from 2002 to 2005 and a bro ...

has eclipsed Young's scoreless innings streak, Young's hitless streak remains the MLB record. One year later, on July 4, 1905, Waddell beat Young and the Americans, 4–2, in a 20-inning contest. Young pitched 13 consecutive scoreless innings before he gave up a pair of unearned runs in the final inning. Young did not walk a batter and was later quoted as saying: "For my part, I think it was the greatest game of ball I ever took part in."

Game statistics

;May 5, Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston, Massachusetts

Box score

References

;Bibliography * ;In-line citations {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Cy 1904 Major League Baseball season Major League Baseball perfect games Boston Red Sox Philadelphia Athletics May 1904 sports events 1904 in sports in Massachusetts Baseball competitions in Boston 1900s in Boston