09/06/2026
August 15, 2012
At Safeco Field in Seattle, Seattle Mariners Venezuelan ace Félix Hernández etched his name into baseball immortality by pitching the 23rd perfect game in Major League Baseball history, completely baffling the Tampa Bay Rays from start to finish.
On a magical afternoon driven by a lethal combination of his signature wipeout changeup and pinpoint fastball command, "King Félix" retired all 27 batters he faced in order, allowing zero hits, zero walks, and zero baserunners. The atmosphere inside the ballpark reached a fever pitch in the top of the ninth inning with two outs, as Hernández got ahead 2-2 against Sean Rodriguez before catching him looking with a dirty, knee-buckling changeup on the inside corner for strike three. Félix dropped to his knees, pointed his arms to the sky, and struck his signature victory pose as the home crowd erupted into absolute ecstasy. It marked the first perfect game in Mariners franchise history and cemented "El Rey" among the greatest peak dominant pitchers of his generation.