Matt Cain

Lore & Background

Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in big league history on June 13, 2012. He had a 16–5 record during the 2012 regular season, finishing sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting. During the Giants' playoff run that led to their victory in the 2012 World Series, the team won every series-clinching playoff game that Cain started.

In Their Own Story

The fog rolled off the bay, clinging to the green seats of AT&T Park as Matt Cain took the mound for the seventh inning. The silence of the crowd was heavy, not with tension, but with a shared belief that something historic was unfolding. He gripped the ball, looked at his catcher, and delivered a fastball that kissed the corner of the plate. Strike three. As he walked off the field to a roar that shook the stadium's bones, he knew this wasn't just another win; it was the moment San Francisco would remember forever.

Reader's Guide

Cain was drafted by the Giants out of high school in 2002 and made his MLB debut at age 20 in 2005, becoming the youngest player in the NL that year. In 2009, he was named to his first career All-Star team and won the Willie Mac Award. During the 2010 MLB postseason, he did not allow an earned run in any of the three playoff games he pitched in as the Giants won their first World Series since 1954. In 2012, Cain signed a contract extension that, at the time, gave him the most lucrative contract ever received by a right-handed pitcher in major league history.

Did You Know?

• Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in MLB history on June 13, 2012.
• He was the youngest player in the National League in 2005, his debut season.
• Cain allowed earned runs in two of his three playoff starts during the 2010 postseason.
• He signed a lucrative contract in 2012, though it was not the most lucrative ever for a right-handed pitcher at the time.