Eury Perez Deserved His Shot at a Perfect Game
- Sheehan Planas-Arteaga
- Jul 10
- 4 min read
Arbitrary pitch count logic led to Eury Perez not seeing his perfect game through. That sucks.
Love 'em or hate 'em, analytics have changed the way the Miami Marlins do business. President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix has taken the principles championed by his former employer, the card-counting Tampa Bay Rays, and implemented them 300 miles south. They found a manager who would adopt these practices in Clayton McCullough, and as far as we know, they are in lockstep when it comes to winning ballgames on the back of mathematics.
Sometimes, though, you have to throw the calculator in the trash. Sometimes you have to kick it old school and go with your gut. Understand the situation based on what tradition says is right, not your pregame plan based on some newfangled data model. In the case of Eury Perez’s most recent start against the A’s, in which he completed seven perfect innings, it would’ve been the perfect opportunity to cast Moneyball aside for a moment and acknowledge the magnitude of the situation.
But nope. Eury Perez got pulled, thus ending his bid for a perfect game.
We Few, We Happy Few
There have been 24 perfect games thrown in MLB history. 25 if you count Armando Gallaraga’s in 2010, which was lost due to Jim Joyce’s bad call at first base. 26 if you count Ernie Shore in 1917, who retired 27 in a row after he replaced starting Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth. The Babe walked the first batter of the game on four pitches before punching the home plate umpire in the face over his strike zone, as one does. However you see it, there have been 24-ish perfect games ever thrown in the history of the sport.
Perfect games are on a completely different level than ordinary no-hitters. There have been 327 no-nos in history. It’s one hell of a feat, but it’s not a perfecto. A perfect game is an inner circle within an inner circle. If you are a pitcher chasing one, you should be allowed to see it through to the end.
Pitch Count
Eury Perez is coming off an injury to his hamstring and was at 92 pitches after his seven perfect innings against the A’s. This was his third start since coming off the IL, and he threw 68 and 86 pitches in his first and second start back, respectively. Capping his pitches made sense for the 23-year-old. He has never thrown over 100 pitches in his MLB career, with his most being exactly 100 in his final start of last season.
Clayton McCullough admitted that he was sticking to the plan when he pulled him after 92 pitches. He doesn’t want to lose his job, and pushing Eury raises his risk of injury.
All well and good, but it’s still lame.
Necessary Efficiency
The benefit to chasing a perfect game compared to a no-hitter is the efficiency it requires. Johan Santana threw 134 pitches during his no-hitter in 2012, and the superhuman effort affected his career afterwards. Edwin Jackson threw 149 during his no-no of 2010. No-hitters only involve hits. Errors? Runs? Walks? Hit-by-pitches? Who cares? This is not how a perfect game comes to be, though.
Eury Perez was going to face six batters, and six batters only, if he was to finish his masterpiece. Perfect games are efficient by definition. It’s 27 up and 27 down. You’re looking at about 10-15 pitches per inning. Eury’s pitch count was rather high for having retired 21 in a row, at 92. But it’s also safe to assume he would’ve been pitching to more contact across the final two frames in order to avoid walking anyone, which would've helped him save some bullets. Is it unreasonable that he could’ve sent down the next six hitters on about 20 pitches? I don’t think that’s far-fetched at all. This puts Eury Perez at a 112-pitch perfect game.
Worth the Risk? I Say Yes.
Call me crazy, but I think throwing 12 more pitches than you’ve ever thrown in a big league game is worth the risk of baseball immortality. Yes, he could have gotten hurt. But at some point you have to let an athlete be an athlete and push themselves past whatever obstacle has been set before him, in this case, six more hitters and 20 or so more pitches. Clayton McCullough has to know this, deep down.
It seems that he didn’t want to get in trouble based on the disaster scenario of Eury getting hurt while chasing the white whale.
Brad Pitt Would be Ashamed
I mentioned Moneyball earlier in the article, which is ironic, since arguably the most famous line from the film of the same name is diametrically opposed to Eury Perez’s stunted perfect game. A downtrodden Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) sits with his assistant Peter Brand (Jonah Hill) to watch a tape of a minor league catcher unknowingly hitting a home run.
“How can you not be romantic about baseball?” asks Beane.
This is how. This is exactly how to not be romantic about baseball. By pulling a starter after seven perfect innings because of pitch count and a hypothetical injury. You deserved a shot at history, Eury. Clayton McCullough owed you that.
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