The Last Perfect Game in Baseball History
As of the newest available public data, the last perfect game in Major League Baseball was thrown by Domingo German of the New York Yankees on June 28, 2023, against the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium. He faced the minimum 27 batters, allowed no hits, no walks, and no errors over 9 innings, earning the 24th perfect game in MLB history and the first since 2012. The game is widely cited by MLB and Elias Sports Bureau as the most recent official perfect game in the modern era, with the final score 11 0. For official league records and definitions, see the MLB rules page on perfect games MLB Official Rules.
A perfect game is defined as a complete game in which no batter reaches base by any official means, including hits, walks, hit batsmen, interference, or errors, and the pitcher faces exactly 27 batters. In MLB history, this has occurred 24 times, with the first recorded perfect game by Lee Richmond in 1880 and the most recent by Domingo German in 2023. The rarity is highlighted by the average gap of roughly 5 1/2 years between perfect games, though the longest modern drought was 10 years between Matt Cain in 2012 and German in 2023. According to Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician for MLB, no extra inning or postseason perfect game has been recorded, and the 2023 outing remains the benchmark for pitching perfection ESPN coverage of German's perfect game.
Key Details and Records of the 2023 Perfect Game
Domingo German's Performance
Domingo German threw 97 pitches, struck out 7, and faced the minimum number of batters in a 11 0 victory over the Oakland Athletics at Yankee Stadium. The perfect game was the first by a Yankees pitcher since David Wells in 1998 and the first by a right-handed Yankees pitcher in franchise history. German's pitch count, strikeout total, and the game score are tracked by MLB's official game logs and Elias Sports Bureau as part of the standard pitching data set Baseball Reference game log.
Comparison to Other Recent Perfect Games
The 2023 perfect game by German came 11 years after the previous MLB perfect game by Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants on June 13, 2012. In the broader timeline, the 24 perfect games span from 1880 to 2023, with a cluster of 6 perfect games between 2009 and 2023, including those by Philip Humber, Matt Cain, and Domingo German. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that the modern era has seen an uptick in perfect games compared with the early 20th century, though the overall frequency remains extremely low relative to no-hitters and near-perfect outings Baseball Hall of Fame perfect game history.
Why Perfect Games Are So Rare in MLB
Statistical Rarity and Pitching Standards
MLB pitchers face an average of about 30 batters per game, and even elite