Nov. 12, 1964 - Jim Bunning, the first big-league pitcher in 42 years to have a regular-season perfect game, was named today as the National League’s comeback player of the year for 1964 in the A.P. annual poll.
The 33-year-old Philadelphia righthander polled 49 votes in the balloting by 83 baseball writers. Vernon Law of Pittsburgh was second with seven votes, followed by Larry Jackson of the Chicago Cubs with six.
Bunning, who won 12 games and lost 13 with Detroit in 1963, compiled a 19-8 record last season. His .704 winning percentage was the fourth highest in the league, and his 219 strikeouts was the fifth highest. He also had a 2.63 earned-run average, the lowest in his eight years in the majors.
Bunning, a 20-game winner for Detroit in 1957 and a 19-game winner in 1962, was traded to the Phillies on Dec. 5, 1963, with catcher Gus Triandos for outfielder Don Demeter and pitcher Jack Hamilton. He pitched the perfect game against the New York Mets last June 21, the first regular-season perfect game since one by Charlie Robertson of the Chicago White Sox in 1922.
Law, 34, won 12 games, including five shutouts. A 20-game winner with the pennant-winning Pirates in 1960, he was hampered by a sore arm the next three seasons. His 1963 record was 4-5, when he worked only 77 innings.
Jackson was the majors’ biggest winner, putting together a 24-11 mark, including 19 complete games and three shutouts. He had had a 14-18 slate in 1963.
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