FILE PHOTO: Former New York Yankees pitcher Don Larsen tips his cap during introductions for the 65th Old Timers’ Day game before their MLB interleague baseball game with the Colorado Rockies at Yankee Stadium in New York, June 26, 2011. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine
(Reuters) – Don Larsen, who pitched the only perfect game in World Series history for the New York Yankees in 1956, died Wednesday, his agent said. He was 90 years old.
Larsen died of esophageal cancer in Hayden, Idaho, Andrew Levy, who represented the pitcher, tweeted Wednesday night.
“The world is less ‘perfect’ today, Levy said.
Larsen, in Game Five of the ‘56 World Series on Oct. 8, pitched to 27 Brooklyn Dodgers batters, retiring pinch hitter Dale Mitchell on a called third strike before catcher Yogi Berra’s leaped into his arms.
Larsen had lost Game Two of that series, but his perfect game earned him the World Series most valuable player honor as the Yankees won the series in seven games.
Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Kim Coghill