On this day in baseball history, two dominating starting pitching performances occurred thirty-three years apart.

Jim “Catfish” Hunter tosses a Perfect Game against the Twins:

On May 8, 1968, Jim “Catfish” Hunter took the mound against the visiting Minnesota Twins in Oakland. He retired twenty-seven batters in a row, and a third of the Twins lineup featured future Hall of Famers; Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, and Tony Olivia. He would struck out eleven batters. Might I add that in 1968, there was no DH yet, and Pitchers hit; in that game, “Catfish” went (3 for 4) driving in three of the four Oakland runs. Had he not flown out to Center in the fifth, you could say he had a “Perfect Perfect Game.”

Randy Johnson Strikes Out 20 Reds Batters in Nine Innings:

On May 8, 2001, Randy Johnson took the ball against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, and it was just another dominant pitching performance for Randy Johnson. In that game, he allowed one run, three hits, walking none, over nine innings pitched, throwing for a total of 124 pitches, and struck out 20 batters. However, the game needed extra innings to decide the victor. So after nine innings, Johnson was done for the night. While Johnson didn’t earn the Win, the Diamondbacks would win in the bottom of the eleventh 4-3.

References:

  1. Catfish Hunter Perfect Game Box Score via Baseball Almanac: https://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/05081968.shtml
  2. Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Box Score: May 8, 2001, via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ARI/ARI200105080.shtml