Broad Street Heroes

Less than two weeks after Jonathan Sanchez pitched a no hitter for the Giants, Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox was perfect. That’s correct, 27 men came to the plate to face Buehrle, and 27 men left with unhappy looks on their faces. Buehrle, already the proud owner of a no hitter, can now say he has thrown one of the 18 perfect games in MLB history. Mark is now 11-3 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.28. As always, a perfect game isn’t purely on the pitcher. Gabe Kapler tried to play spoiler by hitting a towering drive to center field in the 9th inning, but DeWayne Wise made an amazing grab to preserve the perfect game, along with the no hitter and shutout.  I just had the pleasure of viewing that play and I couldn’t believe what I saw.  Truly incredible catch by Wise in center field, reaching his glove over the center field fence to save the perfect game for Buehrle.

It is truly an amazing feat to pitch a perfect game. I remember the last one that was thrown, when Randy Johnson mowed down the Atlanta Braves about five years ago. Mark Buehrle can now add this to his laundry list of accolades in the majors. He already has a World Series ring as part of the 2005 White Sox, he threw a no hitter in 2007, and now has a perfect game under his belt. Where is the love for this guy? He has a career 132-90 record as a starter and gets barely any recognition as one of the best pitchers in the game. With everyone talking about Roy Halladay, it’s about time that another pitcher stepped up. What’s even more impressive? He just pitched a perfect game against the defending AL Champion Rays. What a performance!