Revisiting Buehrle’s Perfect Game
So, I got thinking about baseball history stuff today, kinda went down a memory lane type of thing. Mark Buehrle popped into my head. Specifically, that perfect game he tossed for the White Sox. Man, that feels like ages ago now, doesn’t it? July 23, 2009.
I decided to actually sit down and revisit it, not just rely on fuzzy memories. Pulled up the details, you know, just to walk through it again in my head. It was against the Tampa Bay Rays, who were pretty decent back then.
The Process – Just Watching Him Work
What I always found kinda neat about Buehrle was how fast he worked. No messing around on the mound. Get the ball, throw the ball. Boom, boom, boom. Watching highlights again, you see that rhythm. It felt like the whole game probably flew by. The box score says it was just over two hours. That’s quick.
Going through it mentally, batter by batter (well, not literally, just the idea):
- First few innings, probably felt like any other good start.
- Middle innings, you start thinking, “Okay, he’s got something going here.”
- Late innings, that’s when the tension really builds. Every pitch feels huge.
That Ninth Inning… Wow
Then you get to the ninth. Everyone remembers the ninth. Gabe Kapler leads off, hits one deep to center. Looked like trouble, maybe extra bases, definitely bye-bye perfect game.
But then DeWayne Wise comes flying in. He’d just come into the game for defense. Makes this absolutely bonkers catch, crashing into the wall, juggling it a bit, but holds on. If he doesn’t make that play, we’re not even talking about this today. Just an amazing catch, saved the whole thing right there.
After that, it felt almost destined. Michel Hernandez struck out. Then Jason Bartlett grounds out to the shortstop, Alexei Ramirez. Ballgame. Twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down.
Just Thinking About It
It’s funny how these moments stick with you. Buehrle wasn’t some flamethrower, just a smart pitcher who knew how to get guys out efficiently. Seeing him get that perfect game, it felt right somehow. Plus, he got a call from President Obama afterward, which is pretty wild when you think about it.
So yeah, spent a bit of time just going back over that game. Documenting the key beats for myself. It’s good to revisit these things, kinda put them down on paper, or screen, whatever. Solidified it in my mind again. Just a cool piece of baseball history, plain and simple.
