September 14, 2005

A Perfect Perfect Game

En route to looking up something else, I came across this Straight Dope classic about the definition of a truly perfect game:

(3) Which is more elegant, a perfect game accomplished in 27 pitches, each batter hitting into an out, or one accomplished in 81 strikes, giving the position players nothing to do at all?

Cecil answers:

(3) The number of pitches thrown during a perfect game is no more relevant than the number of brush strokes used to paint the Mona Lisa. A perfect game is just that: perfect. To cavil about the minor details of such a performance is to proclaim that one has the morals of a newspaper publisher. I need say no more.

I see his point (although I submit that fans have been arguing about baseballically philosophical questions since Doubleday), but he missed an obvious answer. 27 first-pitch lineouts back to the pitcher would accomplish both goals; nobody else - not even the catcher - would have to do anything!

Posted by Chris at September 14, 2005 01:58 PM

Category: Sports
Comments

We ARE talking about baseball, right?

The perfect game is one that was never played and substituted with a football game instead.

Posted by: chess h at September 14, 2005 09:09 PM

Bwah!

...or a hockey game!

Posted by: Chris of Dangerous Logic at September 15, 2005 07:41 AM

Cecil rocks
http://neanderpundit.com/archives/000489.html

Posted by: og at September 16, 2005 03:11 PM