On August 15, 2012, Félix Hernández retired all 27 Tampa Bay Rays he faced and became the 23rd pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game. Fourteen years later, that afternoon at Safeco Field carries an extra layer of meaning: only three Latin American pitchers have ever done it. Dennis Martínez of Nicaragua, King Félix of Venezuela, and Domingo Germán of the Dominican Republic. Three flags. One club.
The Day Félix Was Perfect
It was a Friday evening in Seattle. Félix Hernández took the mound against the Rays and was surgical from the first pitch to the last: 12 strikeouts, 0 walks, 27 consecutive outs on 113 pitches. He threw strikes on 68% of those pitches — clean, efficient, untouchable. The only run of the game came in the third inning, driven in by Jesús Montero — a detail worth noting, since it put two Venezuelans in the same box score on one of the greatest days in pitching history. Hernández carried a 2.14 ERA into that start, and left it even lower.
The Other Two: Martínez in ’91, Germán in ’23
Dennis Martínez was first. On July 28, 1991, the Nicaraguan right-hander threw the 13th perfect game in MLB history, pitching for the Montreal Expos against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Martínez was 36 years old, deep into a career revival after battling alcohol addiction. He struck out 5 and retired every batter he faced. The Latin baseball world called him El Presidente — and the name stuck forever.
Domingo Germán closed the triangle on June 28, 2023, pitching for the New York Yankees against the Oakland Athletics. It was the 24th perfect game in MLB history — and the first since Félix’s, eleven years earlier. Germán struck out 9 and celebrated on the Oakland diamond with his teammates like he’d just won the World Series.
Three Countries, Three Decades, One Impossible Achievement
- 🇳🇮 Dennis Martínez — Montreal Expos vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 1991
- 🇻🇪 Félix Hernández — Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 2012
- 🇩🇴 Domingo Germán — New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics, 2023
Nicaragua, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic. Three flags, three different decades, and one achievement that defines a career in a single afternoon. In 150 years of organized baseball, only 24 perfect games exist in the record books — and just three of them were thrown by a Latin American pitcher.
The anniversary of Félix’s perfect game is the right moment to put that in perspective. Latin baseball doesn’t just produce home run hitters and sluggers. It also produces pitchers capable of the hardest thing in the sport: retiring all 27 without a single blemish. Whoever comes next will have a very short list to join.
