For more than a century and a half, the laws of professional baseball have stated that pitchers and their teammates can record an out by either flying, tagging, forcing our striking a batter out.

Now, imagine a pitcher steering any form of these outs to happen 27 times in a row, all without a run scoring or even a solitary player reaching base.

Sounds impossible, right?

Sure, but that is the cost of being perfect, and this, recording a perfect game - a task so tough that since the dawn of the professional baseball era in 1869, it is a feat that has only been achieved on 24 occasions.

From pioneering hurlers to a present-day pitcher in pinstripes, here are the only 24 pitcher in Major League Baseball history to have toed the rubber and remained perfect.

  1. Lee Richmond – June 12, 1880 – Worchester Ruby Stockings vs Cleveland Blues (1-0) – National League
  2. John Ward – June 17, 1880 – Providence Grays vs Buffalo Bisons (5-0) – National League
  3. Cy Young – May 5, 1904 – Boston Red Sox vs Philadelphia Athletics (3-0) – American League
  4. Addie Jones – October 2, 1908 – Cleveland Naps vs Chicago White Sox (1-0) – American League
  5. Charlie Robertson – April 30, 1922 – Chicago White Sox vs Detroit Tigers (2-0) – American League
  6. Don Larsen – October 10, 1956 – New York Yankees vs Brooklyn Dodgers (2-0) – World Series
  7. Jim Bunning – June 21, 1964 – Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets (6-0) – National League
  8. Sandy Koufax – September 9, 1965 – Los Angeles Dodgers vs Chicago Cubs (1-0) – National League
  9. Catfish Hunter – May 8, 1968 – Oakland Athletics vs Minnesota Twins (4-0) – American League
  10. Len Barker – May 15, 1981 – Cleveland Indians vs Toronto Blue Jays (3-0) – American League
  11. Mike Witt – September 30, 1984 – California Angels vs Texas Rangers (1-0) – American League
  12. Tom Browning – September 16, 1988 – Cincinnati Reds vs Los Angeles Dodgers (1-0) – National League
  13. Dennis Martinez – July 28, 1991 – Montreal Expos vs Los Angeles Dodgers (2-0) – National League
  14. Kenny Rogers – July 28, 1994 – Texas Rangers vs California Angels (4-0) – American League
  15. David Wells – May 17, 1998 – New York Yankees vs Minnesota Twins (4-0) – American League
  16. David Cone – July 18, 1999 – New York Yankees vs Montreal Expos (6-0) – American League
  17. Randy Johnson – May 18, 2004 – Arizona Diamondbacks vs Atlanta Braves (2-0) – National League
  18. Mark Buehrle – July 23, 2009 – Chicago White Sox vs Tampa Bay Rays (5-0) – American League
  19. Dallas Braden – May 5, 2010 – Oakland Athletics vs Tampa Bay Rays (4-0) – American League
  20. Roy Halladay – May 29, 2010 – Philadelphia Phillies vs Florida Marlins (1-0) – National League
  21. Phillip Humber – April 21, 2012 – Chicago White Sox vs Seattle Mariners (4-0) – American League
  22. Matt Cain – June 13, 2012 – San Francisco Giants vs Houston Astros (10-0) – National League
  23. Felix Hernandez – August 15, 2012 – Seattle Mariners vs Tampa Bay Rays (1-0) – American League
  24. Domingo Germán – June 28, 2023 – New York Yankees vs Oakland Athletics (11-0) – American League