Twelve Perfect Innings

May 26, 1959, County Stadium. Haddix of the Pirates retired the first thirty-six Milwaukee Braves. Lew Burdette matched him with zeros, though not with a perfect game. In the thirteenth, Felix Mantilla, who had entered in the tenth, led off with a grounder to Don Hoak. The throw was in the dirt, and Rocky Nelson could not scoop it. Error. Eddie Mathews sacrificed Mantilla to second. Hank Aaron was walked intentionally.

Joe Adcock drove a pitch over the fence in right-center. Aaron, thinking the ball had stayed in the park, touched second and cut across the diamond toward the dugout. Adcock passed him and was ruled out, so the hit became a double. Umpires first allowed more than one run. The next day National League president Warren Giles ruled the score 1–0. Once the hit was a double, only the run needed to end the game counted.

Haddix was the losing pitcher. He had one hit against him, one intentional walk, and an unearned run. He said afterward that twelve perfect innings had seemed, to him, like just another loss. He had not known it was unprecedented.