The Perfect Game: A Dying Breed

The perfect game is one of, no, the most impressive feat in all of sports. The number of factors that go into one are impossible to quantify, with luck playing more than just a small factor. There have been a little over 350,000 MLB games played, and there have only been 23 perfect games ever thrown in MLB history. Well, at least until last night. The New York Yankees are currently in Oakland, taking on the seemingly soon to be relocated Athletics. Even with the Yankees’ disappointing first half of the season, it sounds like a no contest series.

Domingo German took the mound for the Bronx Bombers in the midst of one of his worst stretches of his career… and then lightning struck. Actually, what occurred is much rarer than lightning. German faced 27 Oakland A’s batters, and he retired each and every one of them: a perfect game, the 24^th in MLB history.

It was a magical night for German, the Yankees, and baseball in general. But those nights are becoming less frequent than what they even have been in the past. The perfect game has never been a common occurrence, but German’s performance is a reminder of just how sparing they have become. Prior to German’s perfect game on Wednesday night, the most recent perfect game thrown was on August 15^th, 2012, when Felix Hernandez blanked the Tampa Bay Rays. That’s a difference of nearly 11 years, a long stretch of baseball.

Bryce Harper was 19 and had just made his MLB debut a couple of months earlier. Looking back at the history of perfect games, there have only been 2 gaps longer between instances of them in MLB history. Catfish Hunter’s perfecto in May of 1968 was not repeated until Len Barker threw his in May of 1981, a 13-year gap. And Don Larsen’s perfect game in the World Series in 1956 was the first one thrown since Charlie Robertson in 1922. In fairness to that 34-year gap, there was a kind of big war in there that might have affected things a bit.

So there have been gaps like this before, but really only one that didn’t involve a World War. So, this begs the question. Why is the perfect game a dying breed in baseball? Well, there are a couple of contributing factors. First and foremost, pitchers just don’t throw like they used to. In the 2012 season, when the last perfect game was thrown, pitchers AVERAGED 6.0 innings a start. Aaron Nola was just celebrated for a streak of throwing 6+ innings in consecutive starts.

Whether that says that pitchers are coddled or that they’re being properly protected doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that it’s rare to see complete games anymore, not to mention perfect ones. Additionally, the increase in velocity has led to an increase in exit velocity and for some pitchers, a drop in accuracy. With guys sitting 98 instead of 93, the chances of a walk, or a fly-out becoming a home run, seem to have increased. It’s simply a different game than it was 10 years ago, and certainly the pitch clock and disengagement rules will have a noted effect as well. So take a moment and soak it in; the perfect game is a dying breed.

The MLB trade Deadline is almost upon us. It is August 1st this year. meaning we are just over a month away. The moves should start to pick up shortly. And the Phillies should probably be involved in some of those.

This season has not gone as everyone hoped it would. The bats are struggling to drive in runs. Their starting rotation has at times been great, but Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler have not looked like aces. The top of the bullpen has been great, but there have been some untimely blowups by the back-end guys. Not to mention the fielding and baserunning have been atrocious. All of that has the Phillies still out of the playoffs at nearly the halfway point of the season. As of June 26th, they are 3 games out of a Wild Card spot and 10 back from the Braves.

And with the Trade Deadline about a month away, it is about that time to start looking at what the Phillies need to add to make sure they are competitive come October.

The Phillies need to do something. There is too much talent on this team, and too much money invested, for them not to be competitive. But what exactly do they need to do? To add another starter? Another Bat? Bullpen help? To be honest, they could use help with all of the above. The 5th spot in the rotation is underperforming. Their lineup is great on paper, but not living up to expectations. And while the back of the bullpen is great, it is hard to trust some of the guys deeper in the bullpen. But what do they most need to address?

This is kind of in limbo until we know if Bryce Harper is really a viable option at First base. If he can play first, then Kyle Schwarber can thankfully move to DH. That would open up Left Field to add another bat. But if Harper can't make the switch in the middle of this season, then it would need to be First Base where they make the move. 

Regardless, the lineup could use a boost. The name everyone loves to mention is Paul Goldschmidt. And if they could pull that off, it would be amazing. Even if that meant Harper had to keep DHing for now and Schwarber had to stay in Left. If you can add a bat like that, you do it. How realistic that move remains to be seen though. The Phillies should absolutely be in on him if the Cardinals try to move him. But it's not something you can bank on happening. 

The lineup needs more pop though. The Phillies are regularly playing guys who are not everyday players. Whether it be Edmundo Sosas, Kody Clemens, etc. Both have had moments where they looked good, but overall have not been productive enough. Which is what a bench bat does. They need someone who can be productive enough to play every day though for that 9th spot in the lineup.  Some like the idea of playing Christian Pache in Left. And while that would be great for their defense, I have not seen enough from his bat to trust he can be an everyday guy yet. The best thing for Pache may be platooning in Center, and replacing Schwarber in Left late in games for defense. 

The Leftfield options are not as pretty as the idea of trading for Paul Goldschmidt. Wil Myers is a free agent, but that is for a reason. Joc Pederson would be intriguing, but the Giants are playing well enough they may not be sellers. Jurickson Profar is barely productive at Coors Field. So if the Phillies look to go that way, they may need to get creative and acquire someone not being talked about much right now. 

The Phillies have a very good backend of the bullpen. Jose Alvarado, Gregory Soto, and Craig Kimbrel have all been tremendous for them. Seranthony Dominguez is hurt, but after a slow start, he was pitching well too before he went on the IL.  

It is when you go outside those 4 that you can get into trouble. Yunior Marte and Jeff Hoffman have been hard to trust of late. Both Connor Brogdon and Andrew Bellatii are currently in the minors after struggling at this level to start the season. Also, they may have broken Matt Strahm by using him too much early in the season as a starter.  

They need more guys they can trust in the middle innings. Aroldis Chapman, who is having a bounce-back season, would have made sense, but he was traded to the Rangers. The White Sox could move Kendall Graveman for the right price. Joe Kelly is another name to watch. And of course, there are a lot of middle-tier relief pitchers we haven’t actually heard of that could be decent targets as well.  

They don’t need to make a splash here. But they definitely need some help when it comes to the middle of their bullpen. I also think they need to bring Brogdon and Bellatti back up because we know they have stuff that plays at this level, and they deserve another chance. 

The hope is that this will be Andrew Painter. And if he can come up and live up to even half of the hype this season, that would fix the issue. But whatever the plan is, the Phillies need another starter. Christopher Sanchez has given them two decent starts in a row out of that 5th spot. And for now, he makes for a decent band-aid. But we have seen enough of him to know he is not a long-term solution. They will eventually need to have someone more reliable there.   

Obviously, the first thing everyone thinks about is Shohei Ohtani. He would even kill two birds with one stone by giving them that extra bat too. That just seems unlikely. It would take a lot to get him and runs the risk that he leaves in the off-season, and you gave it all up for nothing.  

If the Phillies add a starter, it will be a more realistic option. Like Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez technically has a few years left on his deal. But he has an opt-out after this season. Given that he is having a career season, with a 2.13 ERA in 11 starts, he will likely exercise that option for a big payday this offseason. And that makes him pretty much a rental, and a prime trade candidate with the Tigers not likely to compete.  Rodriguez has been a dependable MLB starter for years now. Even if there is a regression coming, his overall career numbers suggest he would be a good 5th starter for the Phillies.

Again, ideally, this gets filled by young of their young arms down in the minors. But the Phillies may want someone with more experience. And even if they do bring Painter up eventually, it could still serve them well to have another starter.