Give credit to Toronto Blue Jays journeyman reliever Steve Delabar.

If you're looking for a reason as to what would compel a distinguished McMaster University child health professor to write his first ever baseball book — an intriguing summer read titled "Immaculate — A History of Perfect Innings in Baseball" (Mosaic Press, $20.99 Cdn) — look no further than the Jays' bullpen veteran.

Dr. John Cairney was driving home after work in July 2013 listening to the Fan 590 (Toronto) when a program host mentioned that Delabar had pitched a nine-strike, three up and three down inning; known in baseball circles as an Immaculate Inning. Three batters, nine pitches, three outs.

Cairney, a 47-year-old married father of two kids, ages 10 and 6, was hooked. A lifelong baseball fan, Cairney wanted to learn more. The result is the 246-page, recently released book that provides a short history of perfect innings through the stories of the pitchers who have achieved them.

Getting three batters out in order on nine pitches is a remarkable feat. So remarkable that since the late 1800s, only 73 pitchers (now 75 including two pitchers who accomplished it this season but aren't included in the book) have accomplished it.

"It's astounding," Cairney said of the small number to be members of the Immaculate clubhouse.

Cairney provides engrossing details about all 73, including the four who have achieved an Immaculate Inning more than once (Lefty Grove, Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson) and the only Canadian-born hurler (Rich Harden) and the only Blue Jay, the aforementioned Delabar (although former Jay Jimmy Key and David Cone did it with different teams) to turn the trick.

Cairney, who has more official titles in front of his name than some pitchers have pitches, suggests Immaculate innings don't garner the fame that no-hitters do, because the innings can be quick to miss and can happen at any point in a game.

Cairney notes several academics have written about the sport.

"There must be something about baseball that attracts academics and I guess I'm one of those guys," said the professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences and Kinesiology.

"The Immaculate Inning struck me as an opportunity because it was something I had never heard about before. My first inclination was it had been written about before. When I did some research and found it hadn't, I started to get excited and could imagine what it would look like.

"It was the perfect storm. Something interesting, something I've always wanted to do."

But before hearing about Delabar, the new baseball author had never considered writing a book to join the two other academic texts and 150 journal articles he has penned.

He started to do some research while on vacation. Looking at the other pitchers who had tossed an Immaculate inning.

"It got to the point where I either had to stop this and go back to my other responsibilities or find a publisher."

Some in the Immaculate bullpen are among the game's greats, Pedro Martinez, Jim Bunning, Roger Clemens, Felix Hernandez, Bob Gibson.

Others were good. Players such as Mike Mussina, Ron Guidry, Bruce Sutter. Milt Pappas.

Some are obscure. Guys such as Rube Waddell, Ugueth Urbina, LaTroy Hawkins. Each gets a Cairney chapter.

But Cairney admits his regular job is a busy one. He is an accomplished scientist, so he didn't write "Immaculate" for fame. He is on the provincial Sunshine list pulling down a six-figure salary. He didn't write "Immaculate" for fortune. And he has a family. So how did he commit 12 months of his life to pen a baseball book?

"It's a good question. I'm not very good at taking holidays. The whole thing started on a vacation but for me it was a vacation from the work I was doing," Cairney said, adding the book became a "diversion" from his real job.

"It didn't seem like work. It was fun researching about these guys. I'm a bit of a baseball geek in that I read about baseball for fun, anyways. It was easy."

Some of the vignettes are fascinating. Johnson hitting and killing a dove with a pitch.

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Pappas telling Yankee slugger Roger Maris he was going to throw him straight fastballs so he could break Babe Ruth's home run record.

Pedro Bourbon biting an opponent in an on-field fight. And Delabar using a weighted ball to re-find his game after bottoming out from injury.

Cairney is considering another baseball book, possibly on the handful of pitchers who have seen perfect games foiled late in the game. Only 23 pitchers have pitched perfect games.