May 29- Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay pitches the 20th Perfect Game in MLB history in 2010
2010- On this day in Sports History, Roy Halladay threw a perfect game over the Florida Marlins. Halladay pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies as they won the game 1-0 over the Marlins. He got all 27 batters out without letting a single one reach first base. It took Halladay 115 pitches to complete the game. He finished with 11 strikeouts, which ended up being his season high. It was just the 20th perfect game ever pitched in Major League Baseball history. A perfect game is one of the most difficult single game accomplishments in sports. A pitcher has to get out all 27 batters out without letting any of them get on base. The hitter can not get on base by a hit, walk, or an error. In order to pitch a perfect game, they often have to come with excellent defensive performances from the pitcher’s teammates. Roy Halladay gave a lot of credit to his catcher Carlos Ruiz for calling a great game. Halladay only had to shrug off Ruiz once the entire game.
Pitching a perfect game is extremely difficult and Roy Halladay’s was the 20th perfect game ever pitched in MLB history. However, Halladay’s perfect game was actually the second one of the 2010 MLB season. Dallas Braden of the American League Oakland Athletics actually pitched a perfect game just 20 days earlier. It is the first time in Major League Baseball’s modern era that there were two perfect games thrown in the same season. The last time two perfect games were thrown in the same season was 1880. The last time a National League pitcher threw a perfect game was Randy Johnson in 2010.
Roy Halladay had a long successful career as a pitcher. He made his major league debut in 1998 for the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched for the Blue Jays for 12 seasons and made the all-star game six times. In 2003, Halladay was the N.L Cy Young Award winner given to the best starting pitcher in the National League. Halladay was very close to pitching a no-hitter in his second ever Major League start in 1998. He held the no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers until two outs in the 9th inning when he gave up a home run.
Roy Halladay’s perfect game on this day in 2010 was a big day for Philadelphia sports fans. One hour after Halladay completed the perfect game, The Philadelphia Flyers played the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup. Halladay must have taken all of Philadelphia’s luck as the Flyer’s lost the game 6-5.
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Sources:
Spencer, Clark. “A Look Back at Pitcher Roy Halladay's Perfect Game in Miami.” Miamiherald, Miami Herald, 7 Nov. 2017,
“B-R Bullpen.” BR Bullpen, Baseball Reference,