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27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games
Now in paperback, Michael Coffey's wonderful book about baseball's holy grail, the perfect “The best baseball book of the...season” ( Booklist ).
There have been only fifteen perfect games pitched in the modern era of The great Cy Young fittingly hurled the first one, in 1904, and Randy Johnson pitched the last one, in May 2004. In between, some great and famous pitchers—Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Jim Bunning, and Don Larsen—performed the feat, as did those lesser-known, like Charlie Robertson and Len Barker. Fifteen in 160,000 The odds are staggering.
In 27 Men Out, popular historian Michael Coffey offers an expansive look at these unsurpassable pitching performances. Here you'll find play-by-play accounts of each of the fifteen perfect games and expert assessments of those who pitched them. Along the way, Coffey goes beyond the box scores to provide fascinating details about how these games unfolded, as well as compelling anecdotes about all of the key players—from Koufax's controversial holdout with Don Drysdale to Mike Witt's victimization by the baseball commissioner to Dennis Martinez's struggle up from an impoverished Nicaraguan childhood.
A must-have for baseball fans, historians, and statisticians alike, 27 Men Out is an exciting new benchmark in sports literature.
There have been only fifteen perfect games pitched in the modern era of The great Cy Young fittingly hurled the first one, in 1904, and Randy Johnson pitched the last one, in May 2004. In between, some great and famous pitchers—Sandy Koufax, Catfish Hunter, Jim Bunning, and Don Larsen—performed the feat, as did those lesser-known, like Charlie Robertson and Len Barker. Fifteen in 160,000 The odds are staggering.
In 27 Men Out, popular historian Michael Coffey offers an expansive look at these unsurpassable pitching performances. Here you'll find play-by-play accounts of each of the fifteen perfect games and expert assessments of those who pitched them. Along the way, Coffey goes beyond the box scores to provide fascinating details about how these games unfolded, as well as compelling anecdotes about all of the key players—from Koufax's controversial holdout with Don Drysdale to Mike Witt's victimization by the baseball commissioner to Dennis Martinez's struggle up from an impoverished Nicaraguan childhood.
A must-have for baseball fans, historians, and statisticians alike, 27 Men Out is an exciting new benchmark in sports literature.
- GenresBaseballSportsNonfiction
322 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Michael Coffey
51 books6 followersMichael Coffey received his B.A. in English at the University of Notre Dame and an M.A. from Leeds University in Anglo-Irish Literature. Former co-editorial director at Publishers Weekly, he has published three books of poems, a collection of short stories, a book about baseball’s perfect games, and co-edited a book about Irish immigration to America.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 18, 2017
The perfect game....the Holy Grail for pitchers......27 men come to the plate, 27 men sit down....nobody reaches 1st base for any reason (hit, hit by pitch, walk, error on defense, passed ball on third strike). In the modern era of baseball which began in 1903 (before that time, pitchers pitched underhanded and it took eight balls for a walk) there have been 21 perfect games pitched. This book, which only covers the years through 1999, addresses 14 of these masterpieces. The first one was pitched by the icon Cy Young, in 1904 and whose name graces the award given each year to the best pitchers in both leagues. There are some of the greats on this list (Koufax, Bunning, Don Larsen, Catfish Hunter) but there are also some mediocre players who are forgotten today who had their one game of glory and faded into obscurity.
The author covers each one with a mini-biography tracing their careers, the careers of the teams for which they played and some of the scandals which are a part of baseball history. Some very interesting information....but, you say, why only a 3 star read? For me it was the coverage of every pitch of each perfect game.....all nine innings. It was too much information and the author may better have been served by just highlighting the close calls such as down 3-0 against a batter, a muffed catch in the infield or a just barely foul hit that missed being a home run by a matter of feet. But not every pitch......it really slowed things down and had me scanning through those parts of each chapter. But if you are a person that always keeps a scorecard, it may not bother you. Regardless of the three stars, it is still a must-read for the avid baseball fan.
The author covers each one with a mini-biography tracing their careers, the careers of the teams for which they played and some of the scandals which are a part of baseball history. Some very interesting information....but, you say, why only a 3 star read? For me it was the coverage of every pitch of each perfect game.....all nine innings. It was too much information and the author may better have been served by just highlighting the close calls such as down 3-0 against a batter, a muffed catch in the infield or a just barely foul hit that missed being a home run by a matter of feet. But not every pitch......it really slowed things down and had me scanning through those parts of each chapter. But if you are a person that always keeps a scorecard, it may not bother you. Regardless of the three stars, it is still a must-read for the avid baseball fan.
March 8, 2020
Very interesting-this book includes but is way more than a play by play of each perfect game. The author did a lot of research and provided a lot of historical info regarding the time around each perfect game. Really a must read for any baseball enthusiast.
January 18, 2017
Baseball's perfect games, there have only been fifteen. The first perfect game was thrown by Cy Young in 1904 and the last thrown by Randy Johnson in 2004. A lot of things have to happen to throw a perfect game. It's a rarity and when it happens, if you get to be an eyewitness, you'll never forget it.
September 28, 2011
I get a kick out of this sort of thing. The stories of each of Major League Baseball's perfect games, through Randy Johnson's, told in the context of the state of the sport and the culture when they happened, with exacting thoroughness, comprehensive research and an engaging narrative voice. Would be a great cover-to-cover read, I'm sure, but you could also as I did pick it up and put it down as you read other things.
July 22, 2024
I just finished reading "27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games" by Michael Coffey, and it's an amazing book! Coffey dives into the stories behind each perfect game in MLB history, beautifully capturing the excitement and tension. As a baseball fan, I was completely absorbed.
Baseball’s perfect game is pure magic – 27 batters up, 27 batters down. The book made me appreciate the skill and precision required even more. If you're a baseball enthusiast like me, you'll love it.
I even created a dedicated page on my website to share my love for baseball. Check it out here.
Baseball’s perfect game is pure magic – 27 batters up, 27 batters down. The book made me appreciate the skill and precision required even more. If you're a baseball enthusiast like me, you'll love it.
I even created a dedicated page on my website to share my love for baseball. Check it out here.
Read
April 7, 2022The history of baseball for the United States is the history of the country. I'm not a baseball fan myself, but for general development, the book is just the thing!
It's like reading reviews, for example, like here, and just memorizing useful information.
It's like reading reviews, for example, like here, and just memorizing useful information.
October 23, 2025
Great history of baseball and the players.
March 17, 2014
I read about one of the men who threw a perfect game, Don Larsen of the New York Yankees. the chapter also talks about how baseball carried the games out to people in other parts of the country where the game was not. They used child actors to simulate the game brought to them by telegraph, radio and Playographs.
The chapter claims Larsen did not show up at the ballpark until 10:30, and did not know that he was pitching. It says the game was intense, with the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Sal Maglie throwing a pitch behind a Yankee head. The perfect game was almost broken when Jackie Robinson hit a scorcher to 3rd base, and it deflected off a glove to shortstop where he was thrown out at first on a close play. The Dodgers had a lot of close plays, hitting a foul ball that would have been a home run, and hitting another ball just foul. On a different play, the Dodgers Hodges came up and hit a ball more than 400 feet from home plate. It would have been a home run at the Dodger's stadium, but it was not at Yankee stadium. At the end of the Eighth Inning, Larsen was alone in the dug out because no one wanted to jinx the perfect game. He just had 3 more outs to go. After Larsen got the last guy out, the Yankees catcher Yogi Berra leaped into Larsen's arms, and the Yankees stormed onto the field. It was, and still is, the only perfect game in World Series history.
The chapter claims Larsen did not show up at the ballpark until 10:30, and did not know that he was pitching. It says the game was intense, with the Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Sal Maglie throwing a pitch behind a Yankee head. The perfect game was almost broken when Jackie Robinson hit a scorcher to 3rd base, and it deflected off a glove to shortstop where he was thrown out at first on a close play. The Dodgers had a lot of close plays, hitting a foul ball that would have been a home run, and hitting another ball just foul. On a different play, the Dodgers Hodges came up and hit a ball more than 400 feet from home plate. It would have been a home run at the Dodger's stadium, but it was not at Yankee stadium. At the end of the Eighth Inning, Larsen was alone in the dug out because no one wanted to jinx the perfect game. He just had 3 more outs to go. After Larsen got the last guy out, the Yankees catcher Yogi Berra leaped into Larsen's arms, and the Yankees stormed onto the field. It was, and still is, the only perfect game in World Series history.
July 30, 2011
A book basically for the serious baseball fan. What I liked about it was that each game was put into the context of the era when it was pitched. The chapter on the Koufax game discussed his holdout with Drysdale and the early formation of the player's union. Hunter's chapter discussed his role in the creation of free agency. Witt's role in the Collusion episode of the late 80's was discussed. It wasn't simply a dry recounting of the balls and strikes of each game, although that was there as well. It was a nice touch that the author was present with his son at David Cone's game, the last one in this edition of the book. The book did have some problems, notably spelling and grammar mistakes that should have been caught in editing. Overall, it won't make a top ten baseball book list, but it was an interesting read.
September 5, 2014
Excellent work. Any baseball fan will get pure enjoyment reading this, comprehensive work on the 14 men that threw the only perfect games in modern baseball history, from 1903 through May 17th, 2004. In a period a little over 100 years, over 150,000 games, only 14 games were perfect games by the one pitcher in that game. Great book, outstanding book!
As a side note, research on the internet found in the period from May 18th, 2004 through April 21st, 2012, seven more perfect games were added to this list, a span of just under eight years.
As a side note, research on the internet found in the period from May 18th, 2004 through April 21st, 2012, seven more perfect games were added to this list, a span of just under eight years.
June 20, 2009
The material is worth a far better book. Coffey obviously loves the game, but this is only apparent in his drippingly sentimental conclusion. The preceding 265 pages are just humdrum facts pieced together by boring prose. Instantly forgettable.
July 29, 2011
Really enjoyed this one and how the author wove the history of the times into the stories of these perfect games. I think somebody who actually liked baseball a lot more than I do would really enjoy it!
June 10, 2009
At the end of the book I sensed an anti-Red Sox tone. I was enjoying it up until that point. I would have given it five stars....
June 23, 2010
pitching,perfect game,no-hitter
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews