Giants’ Matt Cain throws perfect game
By Chris Olds | Beckett Baseball Editor
San Francisco starter Matt Cain blanked Houston for just the 22nd perfect game in MLB history — and second this season — as his Giants rolled to a 10-0 victory over the visiting Astros Wednesday night.
The other perfecto was thrown by Philip Humber on April 21.
Cain struck out a career-high 14 batters in the game, which was just the 14th no-no in Giants history. (Need a Cain checklist or OPG? Click here.)
On cardboard, Cain is more affordable than his long-haired counterpart, Tim Lincecum, as he checks in at 1,646 different cards valued at more than $9,300 in the Beckett.com database. (Lincecum’s cards top $38,000.) Cain has just two Rookie Cards from 2002 — Bowman Chrome Draft and Bowman Draft — with the Chrome typically selling for $15 or less before the news.
His most-expensive card from 2002 is his Gold Refractor from Bowman Chrome Draft, a card limited to just 50 copies. It typically sold for $200 or less before the gem, but a BGS 9 copy of the card sold for $750 early Thursday morning. The last raw copy sold for $150 back in April.
Cain appears on 397 different certified autographs and has had the game-used option created 298 times in his career. His earliest ink can be found in the 2002-03 Justifiable sets, while his earliest MLB autograph is in the 2005 Ultimate Collection product.
Cain’s gem was the first Giants no-no that was perfect, and that caps a list of 14 that includes includes Christy Mathewson (twice), Carl Hubbell, Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry.
Chris Olds is the editor of Beckett Baseball. Have a comment, question or idea? Send an email to him at colds@beckett.com. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
