The 12 perfect game pitchers in history before the 1990's had one thing in common. Each one of them were American, born and raised in the good 'ol USA. Baseball today has an overabundance of international talent, so it goes without saying that that similarity would no longer be the case sooner or later.
Dennis Martinez hailed from Nicaragua, and on July 28, 1991 he went into Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and pitched baseball's 13th perfect game. To really add to the not-American flair, he happened to pitch the 2-0 game as a member of the Montreal Expos, baseballs first Canadian based team.
The Dodgers at this time were dealing with some serious offensive problems as two days before they were being no-hit into the 9th inning against the Expos before they managed to steal away the win in extra innings. Today, Martinez would ensure this time they wouldn't have any hope as he mowed down the lineup for 5 Strikeouts.
At this time, perfect games were becoming pretty common with the Dodgers. The last perfect game before Martinez was just three years prior, also against the Dodgers when Tom Browning dominated them. Dodger Stadium itself became the first place to play host to multiple perfect games, thanks to Sandy Koufax. And when you throw in Don Larsen's World Series perfect game, it made the Dodger franchise the first to be victimized three different times.
The game was nothing too unusual for Martinez in '91. While perfection itself wasn't exactly a normal occurrence, he did lead the majors in 1991 with 5 Shutouts and a 2.39 ERA, the only time he'd lead the league in either stat.
(Yes, I know that's not the proper logo for 1991. I'll fix it as soon as the Bot adjusts)
The Dodgers weren't the only perfect game history makers that day. Ron Hassey was receiving for Martinez, making him the first (and so far only) Catcher to call multiple perfect games. He was also behind the plate for
Len Barker a decade earlier.
Future Hall of Famer Larry Walker was still a bit new to baseball at the time, as evident from his utility usage for the Expos at the time. He was the hero on offense, with an RBI triple in the 7th and later making it 2-0 when he scored on an error.
The only run Dennis Martinez would need would come from another D. Martinez, as Dave came home on Walker's triple.
It was a miserable day for Alfredo Griffin, as he committed 2 errors in the field, including the one that allowed Walker to score and make it 2-0, not that it would matter. But that wasn't all. On a day where so much perfect game history was happening, Griffin also gained a dubious distinction. He was also playing on the wrong ends of the Len Barker and Tom Browning perfect games, making him the first player to be on the losing ends of 3 different PGs.
Mike Morgan made sure this perfect game was among the best pitchers duels ever, as he matched Martinez out for out for 5 innings. The dueling perfect games lasted half the game before Morgan lost his effort in the 6th and ultimately gave up runs in the 7th. He still managed a Complete Game for his troubles.
