There have only been 23 perfect games in Major League history, but there have been several occasions in which other pitchers' names could have been etched in the history books had it not been for a hitter reaching base in the ninth inning or later. Here are the 12 most

Getting a hit in a Major League game is unquestionably one of the most difficult things to do in professional sports. Now imagine trying to do that six times in a nine-inning game -- a task made all the more difficult because you're also dependent upon your teammates having big

The no-hitter remains one of the rarest and most notable feats in baseball. Even if it seems like no-hitters are on the rise, there is an argument that isn't the case, and no matter how you slice it, it is one of the game's greatest achievements to get 27 or

By now, you've probably heard of Pete Alonso. It's not an easy task to have a coming-out party after you've already been named an All-Star, hit 30 home runs in the first half of the season and been involved in beef with fellow rookies. It's even harder to do that

When a player approaches 30 homers at the All-Star break -- the unoffical, if not actual, midpoint of the season -- the excitement of a potential 60-plus-homer season really swings into gear. "I think it's something definitely to be proud of," said Chris Davis, who tied the American League record

Three up, three down, with all three batters struck out on three pitches each. While the "Immaculate Inning" isn't nearly as rare as it once was -- there were none from 1929-52 and eight alone in 2017 -- any pitcher who can plow through a big league lineup on nine

Getting four knocks in one day is memorable for even the best hitters. But getting a hit of each kind -- a single, double, triple and homer -- in the same game? That's something special. How special? It's only happened once in postseason history, when the Red Sox's Brock Holt

While the 500-homer club boasts sluggers such as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Ernie Banks, the 400-homer club offers us a glimpse into one of baseball's superglues: a diversity of skills. The 400-homer club features athletic stars like the 5-foot-9 Mel Ott and the switch-hitting Chipper Jones. It includes players

The 3,000-strikeout club is one of baseball's two most defining pitching achievements, along with the 300-win club. Only the greatest pitchers in Major League history have reached 3,000 strikeouts in their career. The club has just 17 members. Fourteen of those 17 are in the Hall of Fame. Two of

Baseball is about to see a player enter one of its most exclusive clubs, and it could happen in CC Sabathia's next start. With three more K's, Sabathia, who has announced that 2019 is his final season, would become just the 17th pitcher to reach the 3,000 mark, joining this

The number of four-strikeout frames -- made possible when a hitter takes first base after a third strike is dropped by the catcher plus either first is vacant or there are two outs -- has grown exponentially in the 21st century. While there were no such achievements by a pitcher

The Yankees had a pair of rookies achieve the amazing feat of homering in their first at-bat, doing it in back-to-back at-bats on Aug. 13, 2016, when Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge became the first teammates in Major League history to accomplish it in a game. "It was exciting," Judge

In the history of Major League Baseball, only seven players have homered in at least seven straight games, the most recent of whom is Kendrys Morales. How difficult is it to go deep in seven straight? There have been many more 30-game hitting streaks, four-strikeout innings and six-hit games. There

Connecting for a homer is a difficult enough feat in baseball. Getting the chance at a second at-bat in an inning, and then going yard again is a truly remarkable -- and historic -- achievement. 56 different players have done it, but there's an even more exclusive club -- players

Prized free agent Manny Machado hit his first home run as a San Diego Padre the other night. First home runs are cool, but what made it even cooler was that it slammed off a building just beyond the left-field fence. Petco Park's Western Metal Supply Company building, to be

The 3,000-hit club is one of the most famous, and one of the most exclusive, in all of baseball. The players who have gotten 3,000 hits in the Major Leagues are few and far between. They are legends of the game -- nearly all of the 32 members are Hall

When it comes to the ultimate defensive gem, it's hard to argue against the unassisted triple play. Turning a triple play with the help of your teammates is noteworthy enough. But to record all three outs yourself -- single-handedly killing a rally in the process -- is especially rare. "It's

Unlike the batter's Triple Crown, where the rare combination of hitting for power and a high average led to a nearly five-decade gap between the most recent two winners, the pitcher's Triple Crown is slightly more common, with winners in each league as recently as 2011. However, leading one's league

Winning 300 career games as a Major League pitcher is a rare accomplishment, and the 300-win club is one of the most exclusive in MLB history. Here's a look at each pitcher who has ever won at least 300 games in his career: Randy Johnson: June 4, 2009 Career total:

Throwing a no-hitter is hard enough for a crafty veteran. But doing it as a rookie? Well, that puts you into some of the most elite company in the game's history. Only 23 big leaguers have accomplished the feat, and it's a wonder that the number is that large. It's

Even with a surprising run of five perfect games in three seasons from 2010-12 -- including a three in '12 alone -- the achievement of retiring all 27 men in order remains one of the rarest of baseball's gems. There have been just 23 such outings among the hundreds of

Poll players, fans and media experts on what records they think will never be broken, and invariably Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak will garner plenty of mentions, right up there with Cy Young's 511 wins and Cal Ripken's ironman streak of 2,632 consecutive games played. In 1941, DiMaggio breezed past

Brock Holt made big league history during the 2018 American League Division Series, becoming the first player in postseason history to complete a cycle in Boston's 16-1 blowout win over the Yankees in Game 3. Holt found his way into another fairly exclusive club with the feat. While hitting one

The Major League Baseball season can be a long and grueling journey, even for players who've reached the pinnacle of the sport. It's six months of near-daily competition against the highest level of talent the game has to offer. Few players play the full 162-game slate each year, and even

More than two decades ago, on Sept. 7, 1993, "Hard Hittin'" Mark Whiten had one of the greatest offensive performances in Major League history. Not only did Whiten connect for four of the 105 homers he'd hit over his 11-year career, he also tied a 69-year-old record with 12 RBIs