This Day in Baseball History

2004 - Randy Johnson, 40, becomes oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game

Randy Johnson provided the high point of a 111-loss season for the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 18, 2004, when he became the oldest pitcher in major league history to pitch a perfect game.

The hulking 40-year-old left hander was rolling coming into his ninth start of the season, surrendering four home runs in his last 25 1/3 innings, poised for a historic night at Turner Field. 

Johnson would strikeout 13 Atlanta Braves hitters - including future Hall-of-Famer Chipper Jones three times - punctuated by an Eddie Perez whiff on a 98-mph fastball in the ninth to close the door on a 2-0 win and more importantly, the 17th perfect game in history.

"This is one of those nights where a superior athlete was on top of his game," Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly told ESPN. "There was a tremendous rhythm out there. His focus, his concentration, his stuff, everything was as good as it could possibly be."

2012 - Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood retires

While Randy Johnson was throwing a perfect game at 40, another one of baseball's strikeout kings didn't pitch quite that far into their career, as Kerry Wood announces his retirement at the age of 35. 

Selected fourth overall in the 1995 draft by the Chicago Cubs, Wood burst onto the scene three years later, tying a major league record when he struck out 20 Houston Astros in his fifth start. 

The right-hander was plagued by injuries through most of his career, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 1999, missing the entire season. 

After spending the first eight seasons as a starter, Wood was moved to the bullpen in 2007 where he would remain until his retirement in 2012. 

Injuries limited what the former Rookie of the Year was capable of, but Wood still amassed an 86-75 record, 63 saves, 1,582 strikeouts and a career 3.67 ERA in 1,380 innings over 14 seasons with the Cubs, New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians.  

Birthdays

1937 - Brooks Robinson

1946 - Reggie Jackson

1967 - Eric Young

1974 - Nelson Figueroa

1984 - Joakim Soria