It is swung on and missed. And Tom Browning has pitched a perfect game! 27 outs in a row and he is being mobbed by his teammates just to the third base side of the mound.–Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Marty Brennaman
This is part of an ongoing series where I examine some of the greatest games ever pitched and attempt to rank them using a method I developed. Make sure to check out the introduction, as well as the other articles in the series. Today’s look back at a perfect game is as short and sweet as this one hour, 51 minute classic.
After a lengthy rain delay of two hours and 27 minutes, the Dodgers and Reds finally started on September 16, 1988. The crowd that waited around was in for a treat. Both starters, Cincinnati southpaw Tom Browning and Dodger hurler, Tim Belcher were on their game. The only baserunner through the first five innings was Eric Davis who walked to lead off the second. Finally, in the sixth, Barry Larkin ended Belcher’s no-hitter with a two out double. Third baseman Chris Sabo followed with a high chopper to Dodger shortstop Alfredo Griffin. Griffin appeared to lose the ball in the Riverfront Stadium lights and was slow coming in on the ball. His throw was in the dirt and first baseman Mickey Hatcher couldn’t scoop it. Larkin scored when the ball got away.
Belcher allowed only one more hit the rest of the game, but he couldn’t do any better than Tom Browning who retired every hitter he faced. Kirk Gibson was one hitter who sensed what was going on and he tried to take as much time between pitches as possible. In the seventh, Gibson was called out on strikes, a call that Gibson vehemently disagreed with. His argument was to no avail and eventually got him thrown out of the game. Browning never lost focus and ended the perfect game by striking out pinch-hitter Tracy Woodson.
Dominance: 4/10
Browning collected seven strikeouts and induced three soft ground balls and one fly ball. Nothing was all that hard hit either and no ball was close to being a hit.
Efficiency: 9/10
Browning never threw more than 14 pitches in an inning and only threw 101 for the night.
Luck: 10/10
He did not need much luck on this night. Nothing was hit hard. Nothing resembled a hit off the bat. In terms of ball put in play against a pitcher, this was about as easy a perfect game you’ll ever see.
Conditions: 5/10
Riverfront Stadium in 1988 favored hitting about five percent over a neutral park, but something must have been going through the air on this soggy night. Both Tim Belcher and Tom Browning were great. Belcher only allowed three hits and an unearned run in eight innings.
Competition: 6/10
The Dodgers were right at league average in runs scored, but what is so fascinating about this perfect game to me is that the Dodgers were a little more than a month away from celebrating a World Series. Last week, I examined Nolan Ryan’s no-hitter against the eventual American League champs in 1990, the Oakland A’s. The Athletics featured a lineup against Ryan that was a lot worse than the one that manager Tony La Russa trotted out there for the World Series. In this case, it was the exact opposite. The Dodgers experienced such a rash of injuries in the 1988 postseason that their lineup was a shell of itself by the time they shocked the mighty A’s in five games. Gibson was not in the starting lineup for the Dodgers in the World Series, but in this game, he was about a month shy from hitting one of the most famous homers in World Series history.
Final Score: 34/50