Me Grimlock once threw a perfect game back on Rogers Clemens MVP Baseball on Super Nintendo!

Never come close to seeing one live, but have seen a number on Teletran One. Dave Stieb against Cleveland, Nolan Ryan vs. Toronto, Dennis Martinez, Pedro's extra-inning non-perfect game, David Cone and David Wells.

Close calls on TV? Didn't Benji Gil break up a David Cone no-no once in the 9th? And me Grimlock also believe, Bobby Higginson pinch-hit HR with two-out in the ninth off Roy Halladay on the final day of the season one year too.

It was early July 2004 that I was in attendance for Jamie Vermilyea's *7-inning* perfect game in the back end of a double header for the Jays' AA affiliate New Hampshire.

Because of the minor league rules regarding make-ups, the 7-inning gem goes down as a legitimate perfect game.

 

Back in university the Guelph team threw a no-hitter that I was the scorer/reporter for.  Funny thing is our guys were wild enough (2 of them used that day for 7 innings total) that no one else knew a no-hitter was going on until I told them after the game - couldn't jinx it don't ya know.

As to MLB, no I've never seen one of those live outside of watching on TV.  Nolan Ryan's one of the Jays was the best though, while Stieb's near perfect game (his 3rd time getting to 2 outs in the 9th) was the most painful miss.

The most memorable baseball game I have ever attended (yes, better than the Carter homer game!) was of course The "Roberto Kelly" game in August 1989. I was sitting in the outfield seats, right behind George Bell. I spent the first five innings complaining that Stieb didn't throw his fastball anymore. Silly me.

If my memory serves me well, the last no-hitter thrown in Toronto was by Dave Stewart, when he beat John Cerutti in June 1990. That was the first season STATS was at the ball park, but I was watching on TV that night. Since then I've had two near-misses from the press box

Frank Viola in the final week of the 1992 season. A Jays win and a Brewers loss would have clinched the division. The Brewers lost and David Cone pitched a four-hitter. One of the hits was a solo homer by John Valentin in the fourth, and Viola took a no-hitter to the ninth, when Devon White led off with an infield single. He went to second on an Alomar bunt, but Carter and Winfield couldn't get it home.

And on the final day of the 1998 season, we assumed we'd see Dave Stieb make one final curtain call out of the pen. No one knew if he'd come back for 1999. But in his second major-league start, Roy Halladay had other ideas. There were two out in the ninth when Higginson hit his pinch-hit homer, and Doc got the next man (Frank Catalanotto!) for the final out.

I saw Stieb's second near-miss at a no-hitter.  It was at Exhibition Stadium on a Friday night (30 Sept., 1988), so there was a good crowd.  Stieb was just dominant, efficiently mowing them down.  O.K., two outs in the 9th, number 9 hitter coming up.  Yah, so we get a pinch-hitter.  Jim Traber.  No sweat.  Then Traber bloops an excuse-me 'fly ball' juuust over McGriff's head along the line in right.  I've never been among so many absolutely drained, really depressed people in my life.  Horrible.  Poor bloody Stieb.

I finally did see a no-hitter at the Dome, Dave Stewart's for Oakland.  Funny, it sort of slipped up on the fans, maybe because he had walked the game's first batter, Junior Felix (who soon got caught stealing).  By the time he walked him again in the ninth, though, we knew that a no-hitter might happen, and most of us wanted one.   At some Blue Jays event later on when Stewart was a Jay, I asked him to sign my ticket stub for the game; and trying to think of something nice to say to him, I said “That game sure was fun to watch”, which wasn't entirely true.  Stewart gave me his death-stare and barked, “It was a better one to pitch.”  I slunk away, chastened, clutching my signed ticket-stub.

I saw that Halladay-Buehrle game last year where the Jays didn't have any base runners... but won anyway.

I never saw a no-hitter (I gave my tickets for that Dave Stewart no hitter to a co-worker!). And oddly, I've been to three games where the Jays broke up a no-hitter in the 9th. Most memorably, May 10/89, when Lawless singled against Mark Langston, and the Jays came back to win 3-2 in Jimy Williams' last victory in Toronto.

Also that Frank Viola game Magpie mentioned, and finally, and least significant, the last spring training game of 1995, when the tickets were free as a concession  to fans for the strike. This was a three-pitcher "no-hitter" though that somebody (I can't remember who... maybe White) got the Jays' only hit.

And on the final day of the 1998 season, we assumed we'd see Dave Stieb make one final curtain call out of the pen. No one knew if he'd come back for 1999. But in his second major-league start, Roy Halladay had other ideas. There were two out in the ninth when Higginson hit his pinch-hit homer, and Doc got the next man (Frank Catalanotto!) for the final out.

I was at this game too.  Sitting a few rows back of the right field corner.  I got a really good view of Higginson's home run and it only cleared the fence by a couple feet.  I hope I didn't jinx it with my not-so-subtle hints to my girlfriend of the time exactly what was going on...

I was at Jim Bunning's perfect game when he pitched for the Phillies against the Mets in June, 1964. I remember thinking at the time that it wasn't really a perfect game because the Mets weren't really a major league team in 1964. Still it was exciting being there. We sat in the 3rd row behind the plate

After the game, Bunning was interviewed by the Mets broadcasters. The interview took place on the field and we could see it but we couldn't hear what he was saying; very frustrating

Certainly that was an exciting day but it does not compare with the thrill of watching Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series even though I only watched that game on TV

 

 

I remember thinking at the time that it wasn't really a perfect game because the Mets weren't really a major league team in 1964.

That's mean, but let's see....

Hickman, cf
Hunt, 2b
Kranepool. 1b
Christopher, rf
Gonder, c
Taylor, lf
S. Smith, ss
Samuel, 3b
Stallard, p

OK. Mean. But fair. Joe Christopher would have a pretty good season, and Ron Hunt was already a pretty good player. And Kranepool was pretty good for a teenager, and would have a decent career. But that is one weak-ass lineup!

It is so excellent that you were in the house!

I saw Stieb's second near-miss at a no-hitter.  It was at Exhibition Stadium on a Friday night (30 Sept., 1988)

That was the second time Stieb took the no-hit bid down to the final out (and it was the second time in as many starts), but it was actually the third time he'd taken a no-hit bid into the ninth inning. A little more than three years earlier, he took the no-hitter and a 6-0 lead into the ninth against the White Sox - he instantly gave up homers to Rudy Law (!? - 18 career HRs) and Bryan Little (???!!! - 3 career HRs) and came out of the game.

I had plans to go see the Reds and Dodgers play in Cincinnati on Sept. 16, 1988

By some bizarre coincidence, the only game I've ever attended in a National League ballpark was between the Reds and Dodgers in 1988. Alas, it was not Browning's masterpiece. But on the other hand, I did get to see Davey Concepcion pitch. Not many guys can say that.

I was also at Dave Stewart's no-hitter against the Jays.

But I don't have a story about it.