Nitpicking with Buehrle

Last week Mark Buehrle caught us all by surprise by throwing the 18th perfect game in major league baseball's history. And while it's probably the most memorable (given that only 9 of these have occurred in my lifetime and this one happened about 3 miles from my house), I started to think about how it's probably one of the least dominant perfect games in the history of baseball.


Now that might be the equivalent of wondering where Mona Lisa's eyebrows are but the MAN only generated 6 swing and misses. So the question is, is the more impressive perfect game the one that comes from a pitcher like Buehrle, would would be pumping gas if he took the mound with a Farnsworthian approach to pitching, or one that comes from sheer dominance like Sandy Kolfax?


When nitpicking a perfect game you have to look at the competition. Was the opposing lineup the 1962 Mets or the 1927 Yankees? For example, David Wells' perfect game came against a lineup that featured a 42-year old Paul Molitor and nothing else. Unless you significantly overvalue the skills of former Cubs Matt Lawton or Ron Coomer, and even Jim Hendry released those two guys. Buehrle's no hitter came against a pretty stacked lineup... BJ Upton, Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria will probably be permanent fixtures at the All Star Game for years to come. And folks like Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett and Central Illinois' own Ben Zobrist are professionals at the plate to say the least. But the top of the list probably is Sandy Koulfax's no hitter against a Cub lineup that featured Billy Williams, Ron Santo and Ernie Banks in their prime. Or Charlie Robertson's no hitter against a Tigers team featuring Hall of Famers Ty "I Make Pete Rose Look Like a Good Citizen" Cobb and Harry Heillman.


You also have to consider the situation. Nothing compares to Don Larson's World Series perfecto (against a stacked Dodgers lineup nonetheless). Buehrle's game came in a game that can best be described as one that would have been forgotten if he had "merely" pitched a complete game shutout unless the performance sparked a run to the title. And anyone who watched the Tigers series this past weekend (with Hawk Harrelson being the exception) knows that the 2009 version of the White Sox will be booking flights back home on October 1.


So let's consider the dominance of the pitcher. Buehrle struck out three while throwing 116 pitches. Which is the third highest pitch count of anyone throwing a perfect game. Addie Joss only threw 74 pitches while striking out three but that occurred during the Teddy Roosevelt administration so we'll discount that. On the other hand Kolfax three 113 pitches while striking out 15 Cubs and David Cone struck out 10 on only 88 pitches.


So while Buerhle's performance might not be the Mona Lisa of perfect games, you can can't find much fault with Starry Night.