Although it has already been covered elsewhere, it is worth repeating that there is now an opportunity for a pitcher to pitch a perfect game yet lose under the newish MLB rules of placing an automatic runner on second base at the beginning of extra innings. Yes, a pitcher or combined pitchers could get everyone out and not allow a batter to reach base, and still LOSE a perfect game. This was not possible before MLB changed the rule in 2020. See this post where we covered this “rule” change and its ramifications on the game.
Perfect games are quite rare. There have only been 23 in the history of the major leagues. What is even rarer are pitchers that have taken a perfect game into extra innings. That feat has only been accomplished by two pitchers, with both eventually losing their perfect games in extra innings. The more famous one was Harvey Haddix who pitched 12 perfect innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates on May 26, 1959. Truly an amazing pitching performance, but unfortunately he received zero run support from his teammates on that day and Haddix ended up losing 1-0 in the 13th inning.
It is amazing to think of his feat, when you consider that the average starting pitcher today goes five or six innings before being pulled. No judgments here, but certainly a different baseball age back then.
The only other perfect game extended into extra innings was by Pedro Martinez. Before he was a Met or Red Sox, Martinez toiled for the Montreal Expos. On June 3, 1995, Martinez pitched nine innings of perfect ball, but the Expos failed to score a run against Joey Hamilton of the San Diego Padres. In the top of the 10th the Expos managed to score a run, but Martinez unfortunately gave up a hit to the first batter he faced in the bottom of the 10th and was subsequently pulled. The Expos went to hold on and win this game 1-0.
Pedro Martinez Perfect Game Box Score by Baseball Almanac
Although quite rare, there is the possibility that a game could go into extra innings, and with the new rule, a pitcher COULD now lose a perfect game. We view this rule as analogous to violating the laws of nature. If you can allow someone to now pitch a perfect game and lose, what does that say about the overall integrity of the game and what this rule is attempting to achieve? As noted in our other post we disagree with this rule in so many ways, but this is just another argument against placing an automatic (ghost) runner on base, just to end the game quicker.
If Haddix or Martinez had lost their games because of a ghost runner, we doubt the average fan would be as “accepting” of this rule as they are now. Again, the odds are infinitesimally small this will ever occur, but that should not necessarily be what we use to decide if this was a rule that MLB should have instituted in the first place.
Baseball Purist 
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