Dennis Martinez at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 28, 1991, after pitching the 13th perfect game in major league baseball history. We see Dennis from the shoulders up. He wears a wide smile on his face as he waves with his left hand.

Dennis Martinez at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on July 28, 1991, after pitching the 13th perfect game in major league baseball history.
Photo Credit: cbc.ca

Dennis Martinez reflects on the 25th anniversary of his perfect game

It was one of those days–the kind where people remember exactly where they were when they heard the news.

After the final out, Martinez was embraced on the moundby Tim Wallach, centre, and Larry Walker, left. Martinez says the embrace is the thing he remembers most about that day. We see all three in their blue road uniforms embracing on the mound. Martinez has his head tilted back in ecstasy.
After the final out, Martinez was embraced on the moundby Tim Wallach, centre, and Larry Walker, left. Martinez says the embrace is the thing he remembers most about that day. © cbc.ca

Twenty-five years ago, July 28, 1991, Dennis Martinez, pitching for the now defunct Montreal Expos, threw a perfect game–the 13th in the history of major league baseball–beating the Los Angles Dodgers 2-0.

No one–absolutely no one–reached base.

To say that is rare is to understate it.

Consider for a moment that there 30 teams in Major League Baseball, who play 162 games each.

Before 1961 there were 16 teams. They played 154 games a season.

Professional baseball in North America goes back to 1869.

Do the math.

Dennis Martinez is so popular in Montreal that he headlined a Montreal film festival last summer entitled
Dennis Martinez is so popular in Montreal that he headlined a Montreal film festival last summer entitled “Match Parfait: Le Baseball Au Cinéma” (Perfect Game, Baseball in Cinema). ©  youtube/cbc.ca

In the major league baseball history, pitchers have done what Dennis Martinez did that Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles 23 times.

For many fans, it’s the most positive highlight in Expos history.

What Martinez did that afternoon was–in baseball terms–remarkable.

How he did it–in human terms–is more so.

The 13th perfect game in major league baseball history was simply a continuation and confirmation of something Martinez had started eight years before when he cast aside his addiction to alcohol, beginning professional and personal comeback that continues to this day.

I spoke to him Thursday in Miami, where he lives when he is not in his native Nicaragua working with underprivileged kids, helping them learn about baseball, and making sure they stay in school.

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