Almost Perfect: The Heartbreaking Pursuit of Pitching's Holy Grail

by Joe Cox, Jim Bunning (Contributor)

The rich, poignant tales of major league baseball’s most hard-luck fraternity—the pitchers of its Almost-Perfect Games

From 1908 to 2015, there have been thirteen pitchers who have begun Major League Baseball games by retiring the first twenty-six opposing batters, but then, one out from completing a perfect game, somehow faltering (or having perfection stolen from them). Three other pitchers did successfully retire twenty-seven batters in a row, but are still not credited with perfect games. While stories of pitching the perfect game have been told and retold, Almost Perfect looks at how baseball, at its core, is about heartbreak, and these sixteen men are closer to what baseball really is, and why we remain invested in the sport. Author Joe Cox visits this notion through a century of baseball and through these sixteen pitchers—recounting their games in thrilling fashion, telling the personal stories of the fascinating (and very human) baseball figures involved, and exploring the historical American and baseball backdrops of each flawed gem.

From George “Hooks” Wiltse's nearly perfect game in 1908 to “Hard Luck” Harvey Haddix’s 12-inning, 36-consecutive-outs performance on May 26, 1959 (the most astounding single-game pitching performance in baseball history) to Max Scherzer’s near miss in 2015, Joe Cox’s book captures the action, the humanity, and the history of the national pastime’s greatest “almosts.”

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, History

265 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2017

Reviews

[Kristy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars - if you love baseball, this is an amazing read. Especially a Tigers fan because it's astonishing the number of Tigers that pitched a nearly perfect game. I thought it would be depressing, but every story is so unique and is written with so much heart it is actually more uplifting than anything. Obviously, my favorite chapter was Galarraga's as I watched that game and that ending is burned into my soul. I also loved Max Scherzer's story. Joe Cox knows how to make some dry facts very entertaining for a baseball lover.

[Jonathan Shaheen · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had to rate my interest in baseball from 1-10, I’d give a 2. If I had to rate my interest in this book, I’d give a 5. This book just isn’t that interesting if you’re not into baseball. A lot of the stories around the players and the context around their almost perfect games were interesting, but reading play by plays from 16 different games made for some very boring reading at times. That being said, if you are a baseball fan you’ll probably love this book.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was hard for me to read, not that it was a bad book, it was a very good book. It was hard to read because I kept thinking how much my dad would have liked this book. My dad loved baseball and only baseball, no other sport would do. He died in 1995 and baseball was the thing we did together, that said, I often had to put it down and pick it up a day or so later.

This is a must read for any baseball fan. I grew up a Detroit Tigers fan and heard about the three Detroit Tigers, four if you count the Former Tiger Max Scherzer. You feel sorry for these guys all over again.

[Bill Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my second Joe Cox baseball book, the first being A FINE TEAM MAN, which provided valuable and thought provoking insight into the life of Jackie Robinson by relating the stories of nine individuals who were associated with Robinson before, during and after his career. Before I read the Robinson book, I was wondering what could be said about Robinson that would be new. There was actually a great deal new to me and changed my perspective on several “common wisdom” issues.

ALMOST PERFECT recounts 13 near perfect games, that is 13 games where a pitcher came within one out of pitching a nine inning perfect game or actually pitched nine perfect innings, but later surrendered a hit in extra innings. My thought before reading this book is how is this guy going to make these stories interesting? I already know the ending. Well…not only was Joe Cox able to make these games with a known outcome interesting, he provides background and follow-up information and anecdotes that are both highly entertaining and at times quite moving.

Stripped to its essentials, each near perfect game has a series of innings (until the last one) where three players appear and three players make an out. Cox avoids the humdrum by interlacing much of the out-by-out recounting with additional detail regarding difficult plays, the reactions of the pitcher and other players regarding the events and of most interest of course, the drama surrounding the at-bat that would eventually spoil the perfect game. The ensuing reactions of each pitcher to their failure to achieve Hall of Fame worthy glory is as varied and unique as the individuals themselves. The author sets the stage for the game events and enables the reader to become emotionally involved by providing biographical background for the pitchers by relating their struggles and key career (and life) events prior to the big game. Players are of course by the nature of celebrity far away from most fans. We know them through their deeds and not their selves, so the insights Cox provides regarding the personalities and characters of these pitchers adds another dimension to their big game. For instance, Harvey Haddix was as surprised as anyone by his performance, but Dave Steib was not; Haddix was a journeyman pitcher on the down side of his career while Steib had numerous encounters with great and near-great performances. Umpire decisions definitely affected the outcome of one game and may have affected the outcome of another. How those involved handled the controversy makes for some fascinating reading and in the case of pitcher Armando Galarraga and umpire Jim Joyce, the aftermath of the game produced an outcome far more significant in human terms than the game itself.

Cox’s strength in this book (as it was in the Robinson book) is revealing the mostly unknown side of the story and its effects upon the participants. As the game today devolves into a marketing and stat weenie variation of Home Run Derby, it is refreshing to read an “agony and the ecstasy” version of events. These 13 games are archetypal bittersweet moments in life that I think most fans will easily relate to. Cox gives us more than play-by-play and box scores to chew on. At least half of the pitchers profiled were not “faces of the game” and would be considered insignificant “pieces” today with sad metrics and low MLB-approved merchandise sales, but these are among the most interesting stories in this book. For pure guts and perseverance, Milt Wilcox, Ron Robinson and Armando Galarraga led inspiring lives that transcended their baseball accomplishments. Pitchers featured who were (or are) stars include Tommy Bridges, Billy Pierce, Max Scherzer and Mike Mussina. Each experienced moving life events whose retelling makes this book a rich history of the game beyond the events.

[Christopher Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Almost Perfect: The Heartbreaking Pursuit of Pitching's Holy Grail written by Joe Cox is packed with exciting scenes and thrillers. Even though this is a nonfiction book, many readers, including me, still love this book. This book is basically about different pitchers in baseball and how they almost, or made, a record. Each chapter of this book tells a different story and each chapter happened during different years different years. The range of years starts from the late 1800s to the 2000s. Each baseball player has their own unique experience in each chapter and they are willing to share their suspense and thrill with all readers who read this book. If you really like baseball or you are just looking for something to read, this is the perfect nonfiction book for you!
Overall, I thought I really enjoyed this book. I just could not stop reading it! Even though I mostly think nonfiction books are boring, I tried something new and it really worked out for me. I would give this book a rating of 5 out of 5. This book really caught my attention and I encourage all nonfiction lovers, sports lovers, and everyone else to read this book. This book will give you a surprise!

[Tom Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who loves baseball will find this book an interesting read. Perfect games are extremely rare in baseball. Almost perfect games are just about as rare. It has happened only 16 times. This book explores the interesting stories behind those almost games. Each one is different and there are unique stories related to each game. Harvey Haddix pitched a perfect game for 12 innings and still lost. Ernie Shore pitched a perfect game in relief. Many of the pitchers who did this are not famous although there is at least one player who is in the Hall of Fame on the list - Pedro Martinez. This book is incredibly interesting and I highly recommend it! I loved it!

[Pamela Okano · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers MLB games in which the pitcher came one out away from a perfect game. It could have been pretty boring, because after all, the one thing that typically happens to prevent a perfect game is that one batter gets a hit or is walked. But the author does a reasonably good job of injecting more interest into each story by relating what happened to the pitcher either before or after the game, or what happened in baseball that was relevant to the game. Well, done, Joe Cox!

[Jeff Alexy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Not extremely compelling but I liked how the author gave us a mini-biography on each pitcher. The format of the book made it an easy read because if one story wasn’t compelling, you just had to make it through to the next story. But it wasn’t like a collection of short stories because they were all connected by the shared experience of the missed perfect game.

[Andrew Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that not only talks about the near misses, but shares interesting information about different eras of baseball and the interesting characters playing.

[Martha]

Mrs Darcy Nerdy Non-fiction

[Nik · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - well written. maybe a 4.0 for a true baseball fan.

[Rich Watson]

16 almost perfect ball games

[Allen Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.themaineedge.com/sports/ju...

Book looks at 16 pitchers who fell short of perfection

The perfect game is one of baseball’s rarest gems; the 27-up, 27-down masterpiece that has been accomplished just 23 times in the history of Major League Baseball. It is the purview of Hall of Fame talents like Young and Koufax and Randy Johnson, but also of forgettable players like Charlie Robertson and Philip Humber. On any given day for any given pitcher, perfection potentially awaits.

But what about those who come tantalizingly close, only to have that dream of perfection yanked away by circumstance?

Those men are the focus of Joe Cox’s “Almost Perfect: The Heartbreaking Pursuit of Baseball’s Holy Grail.” MLB history also has an exclusive club of almost-perfect pitchers – 16 in all. Thirteen of them retired 26 consecutive batters, only to have fate step in at the final out. Three more actually did mow down 27 straight (or more), yet still found themselves without a perfect game in the end.

From the first in 1908 (George “Hooks” Wiltse for the New York Giants) to the most recent in 2015 (Max Scherzer for the Washington Nationals), Cox goes through each of these 16 contests, breaking them down out by out as they make their way to the fateful moment that leaves them almost perfect. But he also provides a great deal of context, offering a look at the careers of these men both before and after their brushes with history, giving us a glimpse at the aftermath.

The preponderance of almost-perfect games in recent years – five of the 16 have happened in the 21st century – results in some familiar names. Longtime Red Sox fans will recall Mike Mussina’s effort for the Yankees against Boston back in 2001. 2013 saw two such games – one from Texas’s Yu Darvish and the other from San Francisco’s Yusmeiro Petit – while the sports world learned a lesson in true sportsmanship and understanding from the aftermath of the blown call that cost Detroit’s Armando Galarraga his place in history back in 2010.

Another Red Sox-adjacent example is the game pitched by Pedro Martinez back in 1995 while he was still with the Montreal Expos. On June 3 of that year against the San Diego Padres, Pedro retired 27 consecutive hitters, striking out 10 along the way. Unfortunately, his team’s offense was also unable to score, leaving him to head back to the mound in the 10th where he allowed a hit to the leadoff batter and bid his perfect game adieu.

There’s also the legendary Ernie Shore game for the Red Sox in 1917, when Shore took the mound in relief of then-pitcher Babe Ruth after just one batter and went on a run. Two guys named Milt (Pappas and Wilcox) have both been almost-perfect. And of course, there’s the greatest of all – Harvey Haddix’s 1959 masterpiece in which he recorded 36 consecutive outs – 12 perfect innings - against a Braves lineup that featured some all-time greats.

Plenty of ink has been spilled covering the particulars of history’s perfect games. But what Joe Cox has done in “Almost Perfect” is tell stories that reveal a different truth about baseball. It can (and will) break your heart. Touching greatness isn’t easy; circumstances, skill and luck must all align to achieve it. And when even one of those things is the tiniest bit off-center, you can’t hold on.

These names might not have the overall cachet of those in the perfect game club. Just one Hall of Famer (Pedro) is in this crew, though one hopes to see Mussina eventually enshrined. Max Scherzer is on track to perhaps be there too. There are some very good pitchers (Haddix, Billy Pierce, Dave Stieb) and some journeymen (Tommy Bridges, Ron Robinson, Brian Holman), too. Really, the only thing they have in common is this missed grasp at perfection.

But each of these games is given its own moment in the spotlight; Cox treats every game with the utmost respect and sympathy. The depth of research is significant; he also spoke directly with six of the pitchers. The resulting work goes behind the basics and broadens our perspective; knowing both how these pitchers reached this point and how they proceeded afterward gives us an empathetic entry point. The sports world adores rarity and these almost-perfect games are even more rare than the actual perfect ones. This book is a fascinating look at pitchers whose feats, while essentially footnotes in the history of the game, are nonetheless impressive and worthwhile.

“Almost Perfect” lives up to its subtitle. We celebrate excellence on the diamond, and rightly so. But we should also admire those who couldn’t quite achieve the summit toward which they climbed. Heartbreak is a constant companion in the sports world, the notion of just-missed opportunity. Cox captures that sense, even as the men themselves acknowledge that this is how it goes sometimes in the game that they love.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Because perfection can happen at any time, at any place, to any pitcher. Isn't that part of why we keep coming back to the ballpark? And moreover, isn't it why we keep getting up in the morning? Even in the midst of the most humdrum existence, there exists that possibility that maybe the day comes when all of the breaks come our way, when the road bends under our feet, the sun shines at the right angle, and we do something truly memorable." p. 227

4.5 stars. I’m a huge Chicago White Sox fan. That should go without saying. However, I still have a lot to learn about baseball. My immediate family never watched the sport and I didn’t take my fandom seriously until college. But I think I’d still have a lot to learn even if it had played a more dominant role in my childhood because so many unexpected things can happen during a game, not to mention the rarely used rules that come out of nowhere. (I’m looking at you, AJ Perzynski running to 1st base after the ball hit the dirt during ALCS Game 2, may you be forever thanked and praised for knowing such a rule existed.)

One of the more interesting baseball phenomenons is the perfect game. A perfect game consists of 27 consecutive outs, no hits, no errors, no walks, no hit batters, and no catcher's interference. Just thinking about Mark Buehrle’s perfect game in 2009 makes me happy all over again. As of Opening Day 2017, there have been only 21 perfect games.

Before this book, I didn’t know much about the pitchers who came *thisclose* to a perfect game and missed it. My heart went out to the 16 pitchers profiled in Almost Perfect.

While we all look forward to the glory days, most of us are more used to the almosts and the what ifs. I’ve never pitched an inning of baseball but I’ve made mistakes and I’ve been let down by others. Joe Cox does a marvelous job of not only taking us through these games but telling us about the players themselves, from their childhoods to their personal lives to their careers. Even though Major League ballplayers are akin to celebrities (at least to me), they’re also a lot like you and me. They have great days at work and they have bad days at work.

Cox seamlessly wove history into the narrative. Whether it was the rise of TV coverage or integration or simply teams changing cities (did you know the Baltimore Orioles were originally the St. Louis Browns?), Cox showed how the sport was changing and changing us as a result.

I also loved going deeper into these almost perfect games, not an easy feat for such an audiovisual game. Cox keeps the details moving and the chapters center more on the players themselves. One of the most unusual games involved Babe Ruth being ejected from a game in the start of the first inning and Ernie Shore taking over as pitcher. Shore got his 27 outs but because Ruth walked a player, it was ruled a no-hitter. Kind of crazy, right?

I was moved by the chapters on Armando Galarraga and Max Scherzer. Galarraga technically did pitch a perfect game but the umpire Jim Joyce called Jason Donald safe at first base but he messed up the call. At that time, there was no replay for umps and Bud Selig refused to overturn the call. Joyce and Galarraga were a great example of sportsmanship and in 2014, replay was expanded. Scherzer’s brother Alex committed suicide in 2012; 3 years later Scherzer became the 5th pitcher in MLB history to throw 2 no-hitters in a single season. An amazing accomplishment but bittersweet without his brother there to cheer him on and give him pointers.

This book is perfect for baseball fans and those who want to learn more about the game. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the players, as well as the parallels Cox makes between baseball and us.

Disclosure: I was provided an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of Net Galley and Rowan & Litttlefield, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would write a review and post it on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my history book blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus pages.

I requested a copy of this book because I am a fan of baseball, the New York Yankees in particular, and the focus of the book appealed to my interest in the game. It is the first book by Joe Cox that I have read.

This book is about the 16 pitchers who came tantilizing close to one of the holy grails of baseball - the perfect game. 27 batters and 27 outs with no one reaching base. The author has done his research and produced a well written and interesting read on the subject. He brings to life the events of the game and what happened to the pitchers afterwards.

I have a personal bias in that I believe that Harvey Haddix should be credited with a perfect game as he pitched 12 perfect innings before losing in the 13th. That is an unheard of accomplishment in the modern era of baseball where a starting pitcher rarely goes beyond 6 or 7 innings.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of baseball and is looking for an enjoyable read about those who came close to perfection.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sixteen times in the history of major league baseball, a starting pitcher has been able to retire the first 26 batters he faced, only to not be credited with a perfect game. Thirteen times the 27th batter reached base safely and in the other three games that batter was also retired, but the pitcher did not complete a perfect game until his team won. Those pitchers and games are the subject of this book by Joe Cox.

The stories are varied – from the 12 perfect innings thrown by Harvey Haddix, only to lose the game in the 13th inning to Eddie Shore relieving Babe Ruth and then retiring 26 batters, each game story is told in three acts.

One act is a brief biography of the pitcher who came very close to making history. Another act describes the important facts surrounding the game or the atmosphere surrounding it, such as the chapter on Mike Mussina’s near-perfect game in 2001, just days before the terrorist attack on the United States. The third act is an inning-by-inning recap of the game itself. These are quite good and show the research that Cox did in order to write about each at-bat by those hitters who were retired in order inning after inning. Even though the reader will know that eventually that the 27th batter will get a hit, there is still good drama in each game description.

The other two acts in each chapter occasionally will feel like they stray too far away from the objective which is to build up the drama of the game only to show the heartbreak suffered by the pitcher. When the subject pertains to the history of the team more than the pitcher or the game, it feels like filler material. As an example, in the chapter about Pedro Martinez’s game in which he retired 27 batters and lost the perfect game in the 10th inning, a significant portion of the chapter was devoted to the history of the Montreal Expos, the team for which Martinez was pitching.

While some of this material may not have been necessary to capture the spirit of the game and what went through the pitcher’s mind, the book was still a good read. It was very interesting to read about these games and realize how many different ways that a game like this can end in a manner that will not be a happy one for a pitcher who has been so dominant. Baseball fans will want to add this one to their bookshelves.

[Edwin Howard · Rating 5 out of 5]

ALMOST PERFECT by Joe Cox tells the story of 16 major league pitchers and their brush with perfection; each pitcher carried a perfect game until the 27th and last batter and lost it. These men are all different, from Hall of Famers, to fringe players; some early in their career, some one their way out of baseball, and hailing many different domestic and international locales.
Cox does an excellent job of setting the scene for each pitcher; he provides their (and often the pitcher's team's)backstory leading up to the game in question, walks the reader through the game, and then tells not only what happened to the pitcher after their special day, but fills out the story with tidbits surrounding the game, whether its what happened to the team the rest of the season, or about one of the batters in detail, etc. Each chapter is brought to life with myriad of special choices that paint a clear picture of the almost perfect game. While there is no clear relation each pitcher has to one another, for the most part there was a theme I gathered from each story, that while all of the pitchers wanted a perfect game, that most of them were less concerned with not getting it than those around them and they just figured things happen and that's just baseball.
For a baseball fan like me, ALMOST PERFECT was a joy to read. I recommend it to any baseball fan and I think anyone who reads it is reminded that even when life is going great and then falls apart, the best idea to follow is just move on and continue living.
Thank you to Rowman & Littlefield, Joe Cox, and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Almost Perfect was a superbly researched book about the 16 almost perfect games in MLB history. I found the writing both enjoyable and informative, and the author did an excellent job of making the reader feel as if they were reliving each game. You could not help but feel sorry for the pitchers (well, maybe not Milt Pappas), and in one case, the umpire, on the loss of perfection. I was familiar with some of these performances, and some I experienced for the first time via this book, yet they all felt new and exciting. Readers will gain new insight into the intensity of remaining perfect, and learn a bit about baseball history along the way as well. This book should be read by all fans of baseball, regardless of your knowledge about the events in this book before beginning your reading journey or agony, triumph and perseverance.

[Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely researched albeit somewhat formulaic book on the 16 pitchers who came within an out of a perfect game.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…..so close, yet so far”

[Michael Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading the book, especially when it came to almost perfect outings during my childhood.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for any baseball fan. Almost perfect goes into those games where the pitcher loss the perfect game after getting 26 outs, no walks, errors, perfect. Only on batter number 27 to lose the perfect game but still get the no-hitter. In some cases the game would go past nine innings like Harvey Haddix who pitched into the 12 inning with 36 consecutive outs only to lose the game and give up a hit as well. Overall the stories in this book about each and pitcher are fascinating and not all of them have I heard or read about before. That I what makes this book unique is that each chapter is different, but is still about the same topic. The author does a fabulous job at making each story its own little book inside of a larger one. Together you have truly a wonderful baseball book for any fan male or female. A great read. I got this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com