On The DL

Happy 90th to Don Larsen. He pitched in the majors during 14 seasons, though, to be honest, his career was unspectacular.  His overall record was 81 wins and 91 losses.  He spent his later years as a relief pitcher.

I suppose his best years were with the Yankees.  He pitched there as a starter from '55 to '59, and his record was 45 wins and 24 losses. Of course, the team was so dominant then that I suppose every pitcher had a winning record. (Compare this to 1954 in Baltimore where he had 3 wins and a league-leading 21 losses. Or 1960 where he went 1 and 10 with Kansas City.)

Nevertheless, Don Larsen is immortal. If you're a baseball fan, you're way ahead of me.  Because when you mention Larsen, people think of only one thing.  He pitched a perfect game in the 1956 World Series. It's the only perfect game--indeed, the only no-hitter--ever thrown in the World Series.

If he did nothing else (and he sort of didn't do anything else), that's enough to guarantee a place in the heart of all baseball fans.