Cain's perfecto lauded by San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO -- Matt Cain entrenched himself not only in Giants lore with his perfect game, but also in the city's calendar.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, on hand at AT&T Park to give Cain the key to the city in recognition of his June 13 gem against Houston, declared that every June 13 will be "Matt Cain Day" here.

"Thank you for treating us to a wonderful, historic tribute of your skill," Lee said in a pregame ceremony Tuesday.

Also during the festivities, baseball Hall of Fame president Jeff Idelson received first base from Cain's big game and the spikes and cap the right-hander wore that night. Those items will be displayed at the game's shrine in Cooperstown, along with other mementoes of Cain's performance: a game-used baseball, one of the "K" signs denoting a strikeout that hung on the wall in right-field foul territory, copies of San Francisco's two newspapers, the Chronicle and Examiner, dirt from the pitcher's mound and a collection of game tickets.

Idelson said that through the rest of the year, the Cain mementos will be displayed in the "Today's Game" exhibit gallery, which features items culled from milestones that occurred this season. After this year, most of the Cain relics will move to a perpetual Giants gallery. The ball will join a collection of baseballs taken from every no-hitter thrown since the Hall's museum opened in 1939.