JULY 23, 2009
It had only happened 17 times before (and I was there back in 1983 when Milt Wilcox of the Detroit Tigers almost threw one against the White Sox. You can read about that game in my Down Da Road I Go blog.).
On this date, Mark Buehrle became the 18th pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game when he shut out the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0.
Buehrle was helped by Dewayne Wise in the top of the 9th inning when he made the catch of his career, leaping above the wall in left-center to snare a ball hit by Gabe Kapler. On the way down, he started to lose the ball, then snatched it out of the air with his other hand as he tumbled to the ground. That ball would have been a home run.
Wise had been inserted in the ninth inning as a defensive replacement, so this play-- among the best in White Sox and baseball history -- was his first action of the game.
Buehrle completed his perfect game in just two hours and three minutes -- the exact same amount of time it took for his no-hitter in 2007. He became only the fourth pitcher in MLB to ever throw a perfect game and a no-hitter (April 18, 2007), joining Cy Young, Sandy Koufax and Randy Johnson in that category.
Afterwards, Buehrle got a call from President Barack Obama, a big White Sox fan.
And, I had a personal experience with Buehrle's perfect game that I will write about in the next post.
--CootFect
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