Chip Taylor

Perfect games in baseball

You've probably heard that Randy Johnson pitched a perfect game.

In a New York Times column, Michael Coffey points out that:

In the first 60 years of the 20th century, there only were four perfect games. In the past four-and-a-half decades, there have been 11.

He asks, "Why the increase?"

Perhaps, because of filthy lucre:

What does money have to do with perfection? With free agency, players are aware that their best efforts will be fairly rewarded. They work harder — and they have the financial incentive to do so. They also know that extraordinary accomplishments are wildly celebrated. Cooperstown calls for a piece of the gear used in the game. If this does not inspire the kind of mental focus a player needs to go the distance, I don't know what would. To make things easier, franchise expansion has brought many lesser talents to the major league level. Now with 30 teams, baseball offers 350 more roster spots than it did in 1960. Indeed, 5 of the 11 perfect games since expansion have come against expansion teams.

Money is not the reason Randy Johnson was untouchable the other night. But it might be the reason the rarest of baseball feats for six decades has now occurred four times in the last 10 years.

Sounds right to me..