Tampa Bay Rays' Wade Boggs Reaches 3,000 Hits

On August 7, 1999, Wade Boggs, playing for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, hits a home run off Indians' pitcher Chris Haney to give him 3,000 hits for his career.

It was the first time a player hit a home run for his 3,000th hit and was the first notable moment in the history of the D-Rays. 

Boggs would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005, however there was a controversy as to which cap Boggs would go in with. Having played most of his career with the Yankees and Red Sox, the Hall of Fame decided that he would go in with a Red Sox cap, having spent 11 of his 18 seasons in Beantown.

On April 7, 2000, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays retired Boggs’ No. 12 jersey. It is the only number to have been issued only once by the Rays.

Although he has not had his number retired by the Boston Red Sox, he was inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in 2005.

Boggs finished his career with 3,010 hits, 118 home runs, 1,014 RBI’s and a .328 career batting average. Boggs was inducted into Cooperstown, the baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, with 91.9 percent vote; Boggs was a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Check out the video below of Boggs' recording his 3,000th hit:

Chicago White Sox Mark Buehrle Tosses Perfect Game

On July 23, 2009, Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox becomes just the eighteenth pitcher to throw a perfect game in Major League Baseball history, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0.

Buehrle would join Lee Richmond, Monte Ward, Cy Young, Addie Joss, Charlie Robertson, Don Larsen, Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Len Barker, Mike Witt, Dennis Martinez, Kenny Rogers, David Wells, David Cone, and Randy Johnson as pitchers to have thrown a perfect game in the Major Leagues.

Since Buehrle threw the perfect game five more pitchers including

Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Phillip Humber, Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez have achieved it.

The shortest span of time between perfect games throw was just five days between Richmond’s perfect game on June 12, 1880 and Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880. The longest span between perfect games is just under 24 years, between Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880 and Young’s perfect game on May 5, 1904.

The American League has seen 14 prefect games while the National League only nine times.

No single player has ever thrown more than one perfect game.

The most perfect games comes from the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees who have had three perfect games pitched each. However, only two of the Yankees perfect games came in the regular season, with Larsen’s perfect game coming in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, meaning the Chicago White Sox have more regular season perfect games.

Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series was the first and last time a perfect game has been thrown in the playoffs, let alone the World Series.

The team with the most perfect games pitched against them is the Tampa Bay Rays, with three. All of them coming since 2009 with Chicago White Sox Buehrle, Oakland Athletics Braden, and Seattle Mariners Hernandez all doing the feat against the Rays.

2012 saw the most perfect games in a single season as Cain, Hernandez and Humber all pitched perfect games in one season, the most since 2010 when Braden and Halladay both pitched perfect games.

As of Monday, July 22, Buehrle is now pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays and has a 5-7 record in 20 starts with a 4.83 ERA in 123 innings pitched with 82 strikeouts and 33 walks.

So far in Buehrle’s career he has been an All-Star four times, including back-to-back appearances in 2005 and 2006. He was a Gold Glove winner four times, including four consecutive times from 2009-2012.

He was also fifth in Cy Young voting in 2005, when he has a 16-8 record in 33 starts with a 3.12 ERA with 149 strikeouts and just 40 walks.

Buehrle’s career numbers over 15 seasons are 196 wins and 148 losses in 474 games, 449 starts, with 29 complete games, nince shutouts and one perfect game. He has a total of 1,738 strikeouts compared to just 690 walks in 3,015 innings pitched.

Twice Buehrle has led the league in innings pitched, in 2004 and 2005 when he pitched 245.1 innings and 236.2 innings respectively.

His best year for wins was 2002 when he won 19 games and lost just 12 in 34 starts, that year he had five complete games with two shutouts.

Check out the video below of the final three outs from Buehrle's perfect game:

Larsen Throws A Gem In World Series

On Oct. 8, 1956, New York Yankees great Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in World Series history against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Larsen’s perfect game was only the sixth perfect game in MLB history, and the first perfect game in the World Series. Larsen followed Lee Richmond, Monte Ward, Cy Young, Addie Joss and Charlie Robertson as pitchers to throw a perfect game.

Since Larsen the perfect game has been achieved by 16 more players including: Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Len Barker, Mike Witt, Dennis Martinez, Kenny Rogers, David Wells, David Cone, Randy Johnson, Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Phillip Humber, Matt Cain and Felix Hernandez.

The shortest span of time between perfect games throw was just five days between Richmond’s perfect game on June 12, 1880 and Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880. The longest span between perfect games is just under 24 years, between Ward’s perfect game on June 17, 1880 and Young’s perfect game on May 5, 1904.

The American League has seen 14 prefect games while the National League only nine times.
No single player has ever thrown more than one perfect game.

The most perfect games for a single team is three as the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees have had perfect games pitched. However, only two of the Yankees perfect games came in the regular season, with Larsen’s perfect game coming in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, meaning the Chicago White Sox have more regular season perfect games.

The team with the most perfect games pitched against them is the Tampa Bay Rays, with three. All of them coming since 2009 with Chicago White Sox Buehrle, Oakland Athletics Braden, and Seattle Mariners Hernandez all doing the feat against the Rays.

Over his career Larsen put up many great performances, but the perfect game in the World Series is no doube his best. Over his 14-year career with the St. Louis Browns, Baltimore Orioles, Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, Houston Colt .45’s / Astros and Chicago Cubs, Larsen won two World Series titles, was the World Series MVP in 1956 with his perfect game, and was the Babe Ruth Award winner in 1956.

Larsen finished his regular season career with 412 games played with 171 games started including 81 wins and 91 losses and 23 saves. He tallied 1,548 innings pitched with a 3.78 ERA, 849 strikeouts and 725 walks. Larsen finished his career with 44 complete games and 11 shutouts.

During his postseason play Larsen played in 10 games, starting in six with four wins and two losses. He tallied 36 innings pitched with a 2.75 ERA, 24 strikeouts and 19 walks. Larsen finished his postseason career with one complete games and one shutout, the Perfect game in 1956 for the Yankees.

In 1964, Larsen was also inducted by the San Diego Hall of Champions into the Breitbard Hall of Fame honoring San Diego's finest athletes both on and off the playing surface.

Mike Witt Tosses A Gem

 On Sept. 30, 1984, California Angels pitcher Mike Witt tossed the eleventh perfect game in Major League history.  

Witt’s Angels defeated the Texas Rangers 1-0 in a game played at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Witt’s perfect game came on the final day of the season as he thoroughly dominated the Rangers.  

He had 10 strikeouts on the day to go along with 13 groundouts, as only four balls left the infield throughout the course of the game.  

A few years later in 1990, Witt would finish off a no-hitter started by teammate Mark Langston. After pitching seven innings of no-hit ball, Langston left the game and was replaced by Witt, who finished off the final two innings.  

There have only been nine combined no-hitters in Major League history.

To this day there has only been 23 perfect games pitched in the Major Leagues, with three of the last six coming against the Tampa Bay Rays. Both the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox have the most perfect games in history with three each. The Oakland Athletics have two to their credit and the Giants franchise dating back to New York has one, Cain’s from last season.