Major League Baseball

Perfect pitch for the perfect toddler

Published May. 26, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

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Flying in the face of the ever-increasing need to quantify every nuance in baseball, we present to you the incalculable (or at the very least, invite you to go all “Good Will Hunting” on your wall trying to figure it out).

And you have a toddler to thank.

Plenty of statisticians have given their thoughts on the odds of a perfect game being pitched. The math varies depending on the formula and figures used, but the answer is generally 1 in somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000.

But what are the odds of witnessing one in person … twice … in the first two games you ever attended … before your first birthday?

That’s just what happened to Bode Dockal, a Seattle resident with a White Sox nut for a dad. Last season, Bode witnessed first-hand perfect games by both Phil Humber (then of the White Sox) and Felix Hernandez (ace of the Mariners). Dockal got his share of publicity for the feat last season, and on Saturday, Bode and his dad Paul were invited to Safeco Field to throw out the first pitch.

As you can see, Bode’s record may be perfect, but his dad’s delivery needs a little work. (We kid, holding your kid and still getting it the distance is an accomplishment in itself.)

As for whether Bode’s magic still works, well, the Mariners and King Felix lost to the Rangers, 5-2. And then there’s the story of Humber.

But hey, times have been tough lately for good-luck charms.

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