On Sunday, May 17, 1998, David Wells of the New York Yankees pitched the 15th perfect game in Major League Baseball history and the second in team history. Pitching against the Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx in front of 49,820 fans in attendance, Wells retired all 27 batters he faced. The game took 2 hours and 40 minutes to complete, from 1:36 PM ET to 4:16 PM ET. Wells claimed in a 2001 interview with
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel (born September 29, 1948) is an American television journalist and sportscaster, best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's ''Today''. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel. Since 1995, he has hosted H ...
on HBO's ''
Real Sports
''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' is a monthly sports news magazine on HBO. Since its debut on April 2, 1995, the program has been presented by television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel.
Overview
Format
Each episode consists of fo ...
'' that he threw the perfect game while being hung over, calling it a "raging, skull-rattling" hangover. Jimmy Fallon claimed in a 2018 interview with
Seth Meyers
Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', a late-night talk show on NBC. Prior to that, he was a cast member and head writer for NB ...
that he and Wells had attended a '' Saturday Night Live'' after-party until 5:30 A.M. the morning of the game. In an interview, Wells also mentioned having partied with Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers the night before. However, there was no new episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' the previous night, as the season finale had aired the week prior.
Wells' perfect game was the 245th
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 w ...
in MLB history and the tenth no-hitter in Yankees history. It was the first regular-season perfect game pitched by a Yankee; the franchise's previous perfect game was thrown by Don Larsen during the
1956 World Series
The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees of the American League and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League in October 1956. The series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series. ...
. By coincidence, Wells graduated from the same high school as Larsen - Point Loma High School in San Diego, California. The previous perfect game in MLB history was nearly four years prior, when Kenny Rogers of the Texas Rangers pitched a perfect game against the
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...
at
The Ballpark In Arlington
Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Texa ...
on July 28, 1994.
Wells' perfect game was the first Yankee no-hitter since
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Dr. K" and "Doc", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Gooden pitched from 1984 to 1994 and from 1996 to 2000 for the ...
's against the Seattle Mariners in May 1996. Wells' performance tied the record for franchises with most perfect games. At the time, the
Cleveland Indians
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 F ...
were the only other team to have two perfect games;
David Cone
David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and WPIX as well as for ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball.Oakland Athletics, but he gave up a two-out single to
Jason Giambi
Jason Gilbert Giambi (; born January 8, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yan ...
to end his bid for an unprecedented second perfect game. Wells ended up with a two-hit shutout as the Yankees won the game, 7-0.
Game statistics
;May 17, Yankee Stadium, New York, New York
Box score
BATTING
*Team RISP: 0-for-0.
*Team LOB: 0.
FIELDING
*PB: Valentin, J (4).
BATTING
*2B: Williams, B 2 (11, Hawkins).
*3B: Strawberry (2, Hawkins).
*HR: Williams, B (3, 4th inning off Hawkins, 0 on, 2 out).
*TB: Williams, B 8; Strawberry 3; Jeter; Curtis.
*RBI: Strawberry (19); Williams, B (19); Curtis (24).
*2-out RBI: Williams, B.
*Team RISP: 2-for-8.
*Team LOB: 3.
BASERUNNING
*SB: Jeter (10, 2nd base off Hawkins/Valentin); Curtis (6, 2nd base off Hawkins/Valentin).
Tim McClelland
Timothy Reid McClelland (born December 12, 1951) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1983 to 1999 and throughout both leagues from 2000 until his retirement prior to the 2015 season. He c ...
; 1B:
John Hirschbeck
John Francis Hirschbeck (born September 7, 1954) is a former umpire for Major League Baseball. He worked in the American League from 1984 to 1999 and worked in both leagues from 2000 to 2016. He was a crew chief at the time of his retirement, and ...
; 2B:
Rich Garcia
Richard Raul Garcia (born May 22, 1942) is a former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League (AL) from 1975 to 1999. Garcia wore uniform number 19 when the AL adopted numbers for its umpires in 1980.
Umpiring ca ...
; 3B: Mike Reilly.
*Weather: , cloudy.
*Wind: 8 mph, left to right.
*Time: 2:40.
*Attendance: 49,820.
*Venue: Yankee Stadium.
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. In addition, all no-hitters that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games are listed, although they are no ...