Kerry Wood's 20-strikeout game

This story is about a year old, but I just ran into it for the first time this morning.
It's an interesting hindsight look at what many regard as the greatest game ever pitched:

Baseball Prospectus | Baseball's Seven Wonders

Some intersting tidbits:

• Wood induced 24 swinging strikes in the game, which is not off the charts by any means.
• The home plate umpire was giving him three inches off the outside corner the entire game, which Wood has acknowledged and which would like not happen today but was normal back then. (Greg Maddux, cough, cough.)
• The official scorer got it right - it was a hit.
• It's incredible that he didn't walk anyone, considering how far out of the zone he was on his misses. (He did hit a batter, Craig Biggio.)

I caught the last two or three innings of this one, coming back from class. This and Wilson Alvarez's no-hitter against the Orioles in his first start after being called up from the minor leagues for the White Sox get grouped together in my head. (It was Alvarez's second ML start - in his first, two years before, he did not record an out.)

Anyway, just a fun little read I thought I'd post.

 

"Great" Maddux, indeed.

 

Can't buy this being the 'greatest game ever pitched' as the Sandy Koufax perfect game against the Cubs in September of 1965 comes to mind. Besides Koufax pitching a perfect game, Cubs' pitcher Bob Hendley threw a one-hitter and the one hit didn't figure into the 1-0 final score. The Dodgers scored in the bottom of the 5th inning starting with a lead off 3-2 walk to Lou Johnson. Hendley's only walk allowed during the game. A sacrifice bunt got Johnson to 2nd. He then stole third and the throw from Cub's catcher Chris Krug got away and Lou came on to score the lone run of the game. Two base runners the entire game between the two teams - the walk to Lou Johnson and the lone hit was a Lou Johnson 'double' in the 7th on a infield fly ball that fell between Ernie Banks & Glen Beckert.

If the Koufax/Hendley duel wasn't the 'greatest game ever pitched' then it could be the Warren Spahn/Juan Marichal duel from July 2, 1963. Both Marichal & Spahn pitched a complete game and the game ended when Willie Mays hit a walk off homer with one-out in the bottom of the 16th inning. Final score 1-0. Heck, there is even a book written about that game: The Greatest Game Ever Pitched | Triumph Books

 

Kershaw: 0 hits, 15 strikeouts, 0 walks.

Only one ever.

 

Harvey Haddix?

 

Love that baseball card homage.

 

Can't argue against 12 perfect innings.