By 1964, the senior circuit had been in the midst of quite the dry spell when it came to perfect games. Not only that, but Don Larsen and the Yankees victimized them in the World Series not even 10 years ago, but Jim Bunning finally got the NL on the board in the modern era when he took the mound for the Philadelphia Phillies for game 1 of a double header against the lowly New York Mets on June 21, 1964.
The future Hall of Famer got plenty of run support in the 6-0 win, including himself going 2-4 and knocking a couple runs in to help his own cause. His 10 strikeout masterpiece wasn't without it's share of close calls, including a huge defensive play by Tony Taylor to preserve the gem. All in all, Bunning needed just 90 pitches to complete the perfecto, his 2nd no-hitter in his career.
Bunning ended the year with a 19-8 record, just another season for that years All Star.
Bunning brought an impressive chart to 1964. The Control seems lacking for a perfect game, but let's not forget this was against the few years old Mets franchise.
Signaling behind the plate that day for Bunning was Gus Triandos. Ol Gus swung a solid bat that day and helped out the cause both at the plate and behind it.
Tony Taylor had a very avoidable year in 1964, complete with a mere +1 defense at 2nd base...but his defensive heroics are what kept the Mets off the bases on that crucial play.
Tracy Stallard has a pretty short and unimpressive career, yet he found himself involved with a couple noteworthy games. First he surrendered Roger Maris' 61st homer in 1961, and then he found himself the unfortunate opponent of Jim Bunning the day he went perfect. Stallard got knocked around that day, giving up all 6 of the Phillies runs. Overall in '64 he led the league in losses, but pitching for the Mets that year doesn't help much. A card like his should not lose 20 games unless you had no offensive support.
In case you were wondering what Bunning's previous no-hit effort looked like.
