A pitcher is one of the most important positions in all of baseball and they can play a huge role in the overall outcome of a game, season and championship. One of the rarest and most difficult things to accomplish as a pitcher is to throw a no-hitter or a perfect game.
Over the years there have been a handful of incredible individual and team performances on the mound. The most memorable and historic are when a pitcher throws a now hitter, shutout or in some cases even a perfect game.
These are rare but when they do occur, they cement their names in the history books. So, you might be wondering what is the difference between a perfect game and a no hitter?
A no hitter in baseball is when a pitcher throws a complete game without giving up any hits. If a pitcher doesn’t allow any hits but gives up a walk or a batter gets on base by a fielding error; it’s still considered a no hitter. A perfect game on the other hand, is when a pitcher throws a complete game and doesn’t allow the opposing team to get on base. Whether that’s by a walk, hit or a fielding error. A shutout is the easiest of the three and is when a pitcher throws a complete game without giving up any runs.
In this article we are going to take a deep dive and give a full explanation on what a no hitter, perfect game and shutout are in baseball. As well as explain how rare they are and some important differences between these three.
Let’s get started.
Pitching Achievements
Much like any sport, baseball is a game full of tradition and statistics. Some of the most difficult achievements or stats a pitcher can be credit with is a shut-out, no-hitter or a perfect game
These are rare occurrences and are extremely difficult to achieve. Due to their difficulty, when the do happen they are highly celebrated and make for a memorable and historic game.
Let’s take a closer look at what these different pitching achievements are and how often they happen:
Shutout
A starting pitcher is credited with a shutout when he pitches every inning during a game and doesn’t give up a single run. If for whatever reason the starting pitcher doesn’t pitch the entire game but doesn’t give up any runs; it’s not officially a shutout.
If multiple pitchers pitch through-out the game and the opposing team doesn’t score any runs it considered a combined shutout. While this is still recorded as a shutout no induvial pitcher will be credited a shutout.
How often Do they occur?
Shutouts in baseball happen a lot more often than no-hitters and perfect games do. However, in recent years shutouts credited to starting pitchers has become more rare, due to the decrease in pitchers throwing complete games. With that being said, you’ll see several shutouts occur during the course of a baseball season.
No Hitter
A no hitter is credited to a starting pitcher that pitches the entire game without giving up a single hit. A pitcher can give up a walk or a fielding error can occur, and it will still be considered a no hitter.
Here is the official MLB definition on what a no hitter is:
An official no-hit game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) allows no hits during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a no-hit game, a batter may reach base via a walk, an error, a hit by pitch, a passed ball or wild pitch on strike three, or catcher’s interference. (Source: MLB.COM)
How often Do they occur?
Pitching a no-hitter in baseball is hard thing to do and when it does occur it’s a rare moment in baseball history. In fact, there have been just over 300 no-hitters ever recorded in major-league baseball since 1876. (Source: mlb.com)
Perfect Game
Perfection is an extremely difficult thing to any baseball player to achieve in a single game, especially if you are a pitcher.
A perfect game in baseball is a rare and special thing that occurs when a pitcher throws a complete game without allowing the opposing team to get on base. That means no walk, hits or error occur during the entire game.
Here what the official MLB definition says on what is considered a perfect game:
An official perfect game occurs when a pitcher (or pitchers) retires each batter on the opposing team during the entire course of a game, which consists of at least nine innings. In a perfect game, no batter reaches any base during the course of the game.
To put this into perspective a perfect game means that a pitcher made 27 outs in a row without walking, giving up a hit or allowing any opposing player to get on base. This is an incredible achievement and is one that takes a defense and a hot pitcher.
How often Do they occur?
Throwing a perfect game in baseball is super difficult and is very rare. How rare are they? According to mlb.com there has only been 23 true perfect games recorded throughout Major League Baseball history.
Sbnation recently did study where ran a bunch of numbers and found that every starting pitcher in a major league game that is facing an average lineup has a .000983 percent chance of throwing a perfect game.
Now you can see why perfect games mean so much to players, fans and the game of baseball, because of how rare they are.
Here is a look back at some of the no-hitters and perfect games that have been pitched over the years.
Final Thoughts
Throwing a perfect game or a no-hitter in a complete baseball game is rare and hard to come by. When they do occur, it is a special moment and is one that is both historic and entertaining to watch.
As you can imagine its especially meaningful for the players and teams that were able to participate in it. That is of course if you’re the team that threw the no hitter or perfect game. The last things the opposing teams want to participate in is a perfect game or no hitter thrown against them.
I hope you have found this article about what the differences are between a no hitter and a perfect game to be insightful and that helps you better understand these historic moments in baseball.
The next time you get the chance to watch a game that could potentially be a no hitter or a perfect game don’t pass it up, it’s truly history in the making.