Perfect Unit
By lefty
After Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks threw his 117th pitch of the game, a 98mph fastball, past a swinging Eddie Perez, he pointed toward the heavens acknowledging his late father. The 40-year-old southpaw had just thrown the 17th perfect game in modern baseball history, striking out 13, and evening his record to 4-4 by beating Atlanta 2-0.
The five time Cy Young award winner was masterful all night and said he felt stronger as the game went on. In attaining his 195th career double-digit strikeout game, 87 of his pitches in this game were strikes.
Boys - you have no more excuses. No more mid-life crisis before your time. 40 is not over the hill, it's the peak. As NBCSports.com contributor Mike Celizic writes: "We are living in a remarkable era. The ancient rules that once pronounced players ancient at the age of 35 have ceased to exist, especially in baseball. The exception is no longer the great player who somehow manages to perform competently at 40, but the great player who doesn’t.
Barry Bonds, who is 39, Roger Clemens, 41, Randy Johnson — these are our great stories in baseball today, our standards of excellence. They are not just hanging on, cheating Father Time and wringing one more year of mediocre results out of aging bodies. They aren’t as good as they ever were. They’re better."
David Cone pitched the last perfect game in MLB for the Yankees on July 18, 1999 vs. Montreal. In the National League, Dennis Martinez pitched the last perfect for Montreal vs. Los Angeles in 1991. It was the first no-hitter for the Diamondbacks, who entered the NL in 1998, and acquired Johnson in 1999 as a free agent.
As his teammates converged, the Turner Field faithful of 23,381 recognized their role in history and stood and cheered, as Johnson became the oldest pitcher in Major League baseball history to toss a perfect game by beating their team.
This is from the msnbc we site: They're getting older - and better!
MLB Perfect Games
Ages of pitchers when they threw perfect games, from oldest to youngest
Randy Johnson (2004) 40 years, 8 months, 8 days
Cy Young (1904) 37 years, 1 month, 7 days
David Cone (1999) 36 years, 6 months, 16 days
Dennis Martinez (1991) 36 years, 2 months, 14 days
David Wells (1998) 34 years, 11 months, 27 days
Jim Bunning (1964) 32 years, 7 months, 29 days
Kenny Rogers (1994) 29 years, 8 months, 18 days
Sandy Koufax (1965) 29 years, 8 months, 10 days
Addie Joss (1908) 28 years, 5 months, 20 days
Tom Browning (1988) 28 years, 4 months, 19 days
Don Larsen (1956) 27 years, 2 months, 1 day
Charles Robertson (1922) 26 years, 3 months
Len Barker (1981) 25 years, 10 months, 8 days
Mike Witt (1984) 24 years, 2 months, 10 days
John Richmond (1880) 23 years, 1 month, 7 days
Catfish Hunter (1968) 22 years, 1 month
John Montgomery Ward (1880) 20 years, 3 months, 14 days
