Ebook: Almost perfect: the heartbreaking pursuit of pitching's Holy Grail

"There'll sure be rain, for you heard the thunder" (July 4, 1908: George "Hooks" Wiltse, Giants) -- In relief of the Babe (June 23, 1917: Ernie Shore, Red Sox) -- "150 pounds of sheer guts" (August 5, 1932: Tommy Bridges, Tigers) -- Billy the Kid ... "What more do you want? (June 27, 1958: Billy Pierce, White Sox) -- The greatest pitching masterpiece in baseball history (May 26, 1959: Harvey Haddix, Pirates) -- "You've got to be kidding me" (September 2, 1972: Milt Pappas, Cubs) -- From the Tigers to the dogs (April 15, 1983: Mitt Wilcox, Tigers) -- The true creature and Charlie Hustle (May 2, 1988: Ron Robinson, Reds) -- Tomorrow I'll be perfect (August 4, 1989: Dave Stieb, Blue Jays) -- "It's just baseball" (April 20, 1990: Brian Holman, Mariners) -- Little brother no more (June 3, 1995: Pedro Martinez, Expos) -- Mr. Almost and America's tragedy (September 2, 2011: Mike Mussina, Yankees) -- Perfectly imperfect (June 2, 2010: Armando Galarraga, Tigers) -- Near perfection from the land of the rising sun (April 2, 2013: Yu Darvish, Rangers) -- Down to a dream (September 6, 2013: Yusmeiro Petit, Giants) -- The illusion of control (June 20, 2015: Max Scherzer, National).;"From 1908 to 2015, there have been thirteen pitchers who have begun Major League Baseball games by retiring the first twenty-six opposing batters, but then, one out from completing a perfect game, somehow faltering (or having perfection stolen from them). Three other pitchers did successfully retire twenty-seven batters in a row, but are still not credited with perfect games. While stories of pitching the perfect game have been told and retold, Almost Perfect looks at how baseball, at its core, is about heartbreak, and these sixteen men are closer to what baseball really is, and why we remain invested in the sport. Author Joe Cox visits this notion through a century of baseball and through these sixteen pitchers-from George Hooks Wiltse's nearly perfect game in 1908 to Hard Luck Harvey Haddix's 12-inning, 36-consecutive-outs performance on May 26, 1959, to Max Scherzer's near miss in 2015, Joe Cox's book captures the action, the humanity, and the history of the national pastime's greatest almosts."--Provided by publisher.