Perfect Game for Perfectly Nice Pitcher
March 5, 1997

More than forty years later, New York Yankee Don Larsen is still the only Major League Baseball pitcher to have a no-hit, perfect game in the World Series. Many consider the 1956 World Series game against the Brooklyn Dodgers the best ever pitched in baseball history. I asked Don why he thought this miraculous event happened to him and he said, "no reason, but I am glad it happened to me , everyone is entitled to one good day, and I guess the guy upstairs picked that day for me."

In his recently released book "The Perfect Yankee-The Incredible Story of the Greatest Miracle in Baseball History" Don writes about how he didn’t know he was going to pitch that day until he got to the park and found the game ball in his shoe, a Yankee tradition. Also, he writes about how he was surprised that he was starting in Game Five because when he pitched in Game Two of the World Series he was removed in the second inning because of control problems.

Don certainly did not have control problems during Game Five when he pitched a perfect game against a line-up that included four Hall of Famers and other great players including Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Carl Furillo and Roy Campanella.

What makes this feat even more amazing is that there has been only 14 perfect games in the entire history of baseball. Don told me the reason why he thinks there hasn’t been another perfect game in a World Series is that there is too much pressure to win each game and that they are too quick to put relief pitchers in the game nowadays.

Yankee third baseman Andy Carey’s father had a mock newspaper headline made up the night before the perfect game that read, "Gooney Bird (Don’s nickname) pitches no-hitter" –a little psychic or what. Also, Don predicted the perfect game, too when he told a sportswriter the night before the game-"I’m gonna pitch a no-hitter." Don said "when I said it, I didn’t expect it to happen."

The unique aspect of Don’s book "The Perfect Yankee-The Incredible Story of the Greatest Miracle in Baseball History" written with Mark Shaw is that they give a description of each of the 97 pitches that he threw that magical day in Game Five of the 1956 World Series. Don said it took almost four years to write the book—and said it was hard to write a book about one game.

As a reader of sports books, I am glad Don has put his feelings and thoughts about pitching the only perfect game in a World Series because there may never be another. It’s nice for readers to share with Don what the Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully said at the time "It’s the greatest game ever pitched in baseball history."

For more information on the book, call (800) 327-5557.

A Little of This and A Little of That…

I saw Mario Andretti at The Grand Prix of Miami CART Race over the weekend. He told me that if there is ever a movie made about his life he wants Al Pacino to play him. But who would play the younger Mario?…

Also, I saw Paul Newman who took a break from his film that he is shooting in California to cheer his Newman-Haas Racing CART team to the Winner’s Circle at the same race. And CART driver Bobby Rahal told me that his Team Rahal co-owner David Letterman is a very supportive and really understands the sport. I asked Bobby if Dave does top ten lists for him after the outcome of each race and he said, "I think he has better things to do"…

Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. who starred in "Jerry Maguire" and has everyone saying "Show Me the Money" was seen walking the fairways at this past weekend’s Los Angeles Open…

Alternative singer and poet Henry Rollins whose music video gets lots of airplay on MTV will join Dennis Rodman on the infamous "Rodman World Tour" this Sunday, March 9th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV…

Next week, I have some hot news from my recent trip to Hollywood.