On September 30, 1984, Mike Witt of the California Angels threw a perfect game against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium. It was the 11th perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) history. Witt threw 94 pitches, struck out 10 of the 27 batters he faced, and had a game score of 97.
Witt's perfect game occurred on the final day of the 1984 MLB season. Both the Angels and Rangers had already been eliminated from playoff contention, and as a result, a small crowd of 8,375 people attended the game. The opposing pitcher was Charlie Hough, who threw a complete game and allowed one unearned run. Of the 27 batters Witt faced, only a few threatened to reach base. Larry Parrish hit a ground ball that forced third baseman Doug DeCinces to make a barehanded throw in the fifth inning. Parrish also hit a long fly out in the eight inning that Witt initially assumed was going to be a home run.
After the game, Rangers manager Doug Rader said that Rangers batters had a hard time seeing pitches due to glare from the sun, and some Rangers players complained that umpire Greg Kosc gave Witt too large of a strike zone. As the perfect game occurred on the final game of the season between two teams who were not going to make the playoffs, and simultaneously with a Dallas Cowboys game, there was little publicity, and many people within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex were unaware of what had happened. Witt finished his career as a two-time All-Star with a win-loss record of 117–116.
Background
Perfect game
In baseball, a perfect game occurs when one or more pitchers for one team complete a full game with no batter from the opposing team reaching base. In baseball leagues that feature nine-inning games like Major League Baseball (MLB), this means the pitchers involved must record an out against 27 consecutive batters, without allowing any hits, walks, hit batsmen, uncaught third strikes, catcher's or fielder's interference, or fielding errors. It is widely considered by sportswriters to be the hardest single-game accomplishment in the sport, as it requires an incredible pitching performance, defensive support, and immense luck to pull off. Since 1876, there have been over 237,000 games offically recognized by MLB; only 24 have been perfect games. Prior to Witt's perfect game, the most recent occurrence was in 1981, when Len Barker of the Cleveland Indians threw one against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Mike Witt
Mike Witt was drafted by the California Angels in 1978 and made the Angels opening day roster in 1981. He finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting and put up respectable stats in his first two years as both a starting pitcher and long reliever. The 1983 Angels were expected to compete for the World Series, but underperformed, and Witt had his worst season, with a win-loss record of 7–14 and a 4.91 earned run average (ERA). At the insistence of pitching coach Marcel Lachemann, Witt played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the offseason to hone his skills and sought the help of professional hypnotists to increase his concentration when pitching. These decisions worked, and in 1984 Witt had his best season, finishing with a record of 15–11 and a 3.47 ERA. His 223 strikeouts were third most in the American League that year.
The game
Witt's perfect game occurred on September 30, 1984, the final day of the 1984 season. The Angels were playing the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention, and as a result, a small crowd of 8,375 people attended the game. Witt recalled how he felt calm that day: "It was perfect weather, seventy-five degrees, no wind, no clouds ... I was nice and loosey-goosey, no tenseness." By comparison, Rangers batter Mickey Rivers noted how he and many of his teammates wanted the season to be over and that they did not take the game seriously for the first five innings.
Witt's opposition was pitcher Charlie Hough, a knuckleballer who was trying to win his 17th game of the season. Witt was excellent through the first three innings, striking out four of the first nine batters. After the third inning, Hough said to his teammates "The stuff he's got, he's got a chance to do it." After an uneventful fourth inning, Larry Parrish led off the fifth inning for the Rangers with a bouncing ground ball to third baseman Doug DeCinces, who fielded the ball barehanded and threw Parrish out at first base. DeCinces later remarked: "At the time it was a nice play, no big deal. But as you looked back on it, you thought, wow, that could have been the difference."