In Ivy League, perfection is elusive feat

What is the most daunting accomplishment in the wide world of sports? Is it scoring four goals in a hockey game? Or an undefeated football season? Or even sinking a hole in one? Throughout it all, one feat has stood out above the rest. This achievement has occurred once every eight years on average since the founding of professional baseball in 1869. I’m talking, of course, about throwing a perfect game.

Twenty-seven consecutive outs, allowing no opposing hitter to reach first base for any reason. Twenty-seven up, 27 down. It’s a test of pitching prowess, endurance—both mental and physical—and a stalwart supporting defense in the field. Simply put, it’s a perfect storm of skill and circumstance, and any pitcher who has experienced the glory of a perfect game will tell you that it is the crowning achievement of his career.

Over the past two years, three major league pitchers have thrown bona fide perfect games: Mark Buehrle, Dallas Braden, and Roy Halladay. I say bona fide to bid respect to Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga’s imperfect game last season, which was spoiled on an admittedly botched call by a first base umpire on what would have been the game’s final out. Buehrle, Braden, and Halladay, however, join an elite echelon of pitchers that includes Babe Ruth, Sandy Koufax, Don Larsen, “Catfish” Hunter, and “Cy” Young. It’s an accomplishment so notable that Buehrle was rewarded with a guest spot on Letterman and a congratulatory phone call from President Obama, a known White Sox fan.

Before learning just how rare the feat was, I had assumed that about 40 to 50 had been thrown in baseball’s extensive history. When I discovered that my guess was more than double the actual stat, I was amazed­—clearly, I underestimated the rarity of perfect games. And having covered the Lions baseball beat for two seasons, I started wondering whether they were as rare in Ivy League history.

It didn’t take extensive Googling to discover two things: that (i) in the history of Ivy League baseball, only Cornell’s Gary Gronowski achieved perfection, in a seven-inning game 33 years ago against the Division III Oneonta Red Dragons, and that (ii) there are several logical reasons as to why perfect games are rarer in Ivy history than in the Majors.

In the MLB, where a pitcher must throw a minimum of nine innings in order to be awarded a perfect game and where hitters are the crème de la crème, the fact that it has only happened 20 times is understandable. However, in the Ivy League, where an official game can be as short as seven innings and hitters are less experienced, one would expect perfect games to occur more frequently. In theory, one dominant Ivy pitcher should be able to subjugate inexperienced hitters to defeat on a given day.

I know, I know. You’re probably thinking, “Well, maybe Ivy pitchers just suck.” Not only is that untrue, but, after looking more closely into the matter, I discovered that the seemingly inexplicable absence of perfect games in Ivy history actually makes a lot of sense.

One fundamental difference between pro and college ball is in the material from which bats are made. Whereas wooden bats are required in the MLB, the NCAA allows hitters to use bats made of metal, aluminum, and other composite materials that produce harder and farther hits.

Another disparity between tossing a perfect game in the majors and in college is that college pitchers often do more than just pitch. Whereas most pitchers in the MLB can focus all their attention on throwing and batting, many college-level hurlers are also asked to occasionally field other positions. Therefore, Ivy pitchers are disadvantaged by the very nature of college ball.

Perhaps the biggest and most obvious difference, though, is that while professional hurlers start every five games on average over a 162-game season, college pitchers have many fewer starting opportunities over a 40-game season. Couple a major league pitcher’s ability to focus solely on pitching with more chances on the mound, and it’s easy to see why they are more likely to toss a perfect game than an Ivy pitcher.

Furthermore, there is a significant discrepancy in the use of designated hitters. A DH functions solely as an offensive generator positioned in the heart of a lineup. In the pros, only half the league uses a DH. However, the entire Ivy League uses this position, thus making it even more difficult for pitchers to blank a team’s lineup.

A perfect game is a rare phenomenon in the MLB, but due to some inherent disadvantages faced by Ivy pitchers, the task is even more difficult in college baseball. So when you attend a Columbia baseball game this season you can expect some exciting action, but don’t get your hopes up for perfection.

Michael Shapiro is a List College junior majoring in history and modern Jewish studies.
sports@columbiaspectator.com