Mike Witt

Mike Witt
Pitcher
Born: July 20, 1960 (1960-07-20) (age 51) Fullerton, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 11, 1981 for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
June 17, 1993 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
Win–Loss record	117–116
Earned run average	3.83
Strikeouts	1,373
Teams
California Angels (1981–1990) New York Yankees (1990–1991, 1993)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (1986, 1987) Pitched a perfect game on September 30, 1984

Michael Atwater "Mike" Witt (born July 20, 1960 in Fullerton, California) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.

At just twenty years of age, Witt made his major league debut with the California Angels in 1981. Standing 6 feet, 7 inches tall and possessing a great curveball as well as a good fastball, Witt's breakout season came in 1984 when he went 15-11 for the Angels. On July 23 of that year, he struck out sixteen Seattle Mariners during a complete game five-hitter; but the highlight of the year came on the final day of the season, September 30,^[1] when he pitched the eleventh perfect game in baseball history against the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium. He struck out ten and needed just 94 pitches to complete the gem.

Witt's perfect game is, to date, one of two no-hitters ever pitched on the final day of a Major League Baseball regular season, the other being the combined no-hitter pitched by Vida Blue, Glenn Abbott, Paul Lindblad and Rollie Fingers for the Oakland Athletics on September 28, 1975. He was also the first pitcher to hurl a perfect game by a 1-0 score since Sandy Koufax (September 9, 1965, see Sandy Koufax's perfect game).

From 1984 to 1987, Witt led the Angels every year in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, and complete games. His best season was 1986, when he was named team Most Valuable Player after compiling 18 wins and a 2.84 earned run average, finishing third behind Roger Clemens and Teddy Higuera for the American League Cy Young Award, and guiding the Angels to within one strike of the World Series.

In the middle of the 1987 season, however, Witt suddenly lost his overpowering stuff and saw his strikeout numbers decline significantly. He did manage to combine with starter Mark Langston to pitch a no-hitter on April 11, 1990 against Seattle,^[2] pitching the last two innings; but he was traded to the New York Yankees on May 11, 1990 for Dave Winfield,^[1] never winning more than five games during his three years there before retiring in 1993.

See also

• Pitchers who have thrown a perfect game
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Coffey, Michael (2004). 27 Men Out: Baseball's Perfect Games. New York: Atria Books. pp. 157–174. ISBN 0743446062. 
2. ^ "Most Recent No-hitters, By Team". SI Vault. http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1137746/2/26/index.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-05. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Preceded by Len Barker	Perfect game pitcher September 30, 1984	Succeeded by Tom Browning
Preceded by Jack Morris	No-hitter pitcher September 30, 1984	Succeeded by Joe Cowley
Preceded by Tom Browning	No-hit game April 11, 1990 (with Mark Langston)	Succeeded by Randy Johnson

Persondata
Name	Witt, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	July 20, 1960
Place of birth	Fullerton, California
Date of death
Place of death