Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays by retiring all 27 batters he faced on Thursday, July 23, 2009. This event took place in U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, Illinois in front of 28,036 fans in attendance. This game took 2:03 from 1:07 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT.
It was the 18th perfect game and 263rd no-hitter in MLB history, 2nd perfect game and 17th no-hitter in White Sox history. The last perfect game in MLB history was on May 18, 2004 when Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks pitched a perfect game against the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. The last time a White Sox pitcher threw a perfect game was on April 30, 1922 when Charlie Robertson pitched it against the Detroit Tigers at Navin Field (later known as Tiger Stadium); that was the 5th perfect game in MLB history.
Buehrle also logged his second career no-hitter; the first was against the Texas Rangers on April 18, 2007. He became the first pitcher to throw multiple no-hitters since Johnson.[1] Buehrle did this in the midst of setting a Major League record by retiring 45 consecutive batters over three games.[2]
The umpire, Eric Cooper, who stood behind the plate for this perfect game was the same home plate umpire when Buehrle threw his first career no-hitter.[1] Ramón Castro was the catcher.
At the time, the Rays were tied for their second-highest on-base percentage (.343) of any team, so this team has one of the least likelihood of allowing a perfect game.[3] Buehrle's perfect game is the first of two perfect games and the first of three no-hitters allowed by Rays in less than a year — the second was delivered by Dallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics on May 9, 2010 (Mother's Day) — the third being delivered by Edwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 25, 2010 — making it the shortest span of time that the same team allowed two perfect games and three no-hitters in MLB history.[4][5]
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Mark Buehrle was a 38th round pick and 1139th overall in 1998 draft pick by the White Sox.[6] Buehrle made his major league debut on July 16, 2000, pitching one inning of relief while allowing a run to Milwaukee Brewers. Then he made his first starting appearance on July 19, pitching seven innings while allowing six hits and two runs to Minnesota Twins.[7]
On April 18, 2007 against the Texas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field, Mark Buehrle threw his first career no-hitter. In that game, he made 106 pitches in 27 batters while allowing just one walk. After allowing a walk to Sammy Sosa in the fifth inning and one out after a 3–1 pitch, he promptly picked off from first while facing the next batter.[8]
This was the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history, first time since August 11, 1991 when Wilson Alvarez threw one at Baltimore Orioles and first at home since August 10, 1967 when Joel Horlen threw one against the Detroit Tigers on September 10, 1967.[9]
Mark Buehrle was the 2009 Opening Day starter, which he took the victory as the Sox beat the Kansas City 4–2. Buehrle won five straight decisions to start the 2009 season. He finished 9–3 before the All-Star break and he was voted to the All-Star Game in Busch Stadium in St. Louis near his hometown, where he pitched a perfect third.[10] After his perfect game, Buehrle had a 11–3 pitching record with a 3.28 ERA. But Buehrle really struggled in succeeding games and he did not get another win until September 7 against the Boston Red Sox.[11] On September 30 in the second game of the doubleheader, Buehrle pitched his final game of the season at Cleveland and he took the victory when the Sox shutout the Cleveland 1–0.[12] After his perfecto till the end of his 2009 campaign, he posted a 2–7 record with a 4.78 ERA and he finished the season 13–10 with a 3.84 ERA.[13] He became the only active player to pitch for least 200 innings for nine consecutive seasons after his debut in 2000.[12]
Because he pitched a perfect game in 2009, Buehrle was introduced to be the 2010 Opening Day starter, which is the franchise's record eighth time.[14] In that game, Buehrle took the opener, but incredibly in the fifth inning, Mark Buehrle made a spectacular play when he chased the ball after the Indians batter Lou Marson hit the ball and bounced off his foot and pick it up with his glove and immediately threw backwards between his legs without looking back and Paul Konerko caught that ball with his bare hand for the second out of the inning.[15] This remains the play of the season as of now. In the show Baseball Tonight, Buehrle-Meter is used to estimate the performance of the #1 Web Gems from 1–10 with 10 is just as spectacular as Mark Buehrle's spectacular play on April 5, 2010.[16]
In the bottom of the second inning with two outs and a 3–1 pitch, Josh Fields hit a grand slam off of Scott Kazmir, giving the White Sox a comfortable 4–0 lead.[1] In the bottom of the fifth inning, Scott Podsednik hit a lead-off double. The next batter, Alexei Ramírez, scored Podsednik from second with a back-to-back double, making it a 5–0 Sox lead.
Two of the Rays batters hit a foul ball very close to the fair territory down the left field line. Five of the Rays hitters had their 3–2 account.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Rays' lead-off hitter, Gabe Kapler, hit a deep fly ball to left field-center field, where DeWayne Wise made a spectacular catch, taking a home run away from Kapler and saving the perfect game for Buehrle. Wise was a defensive replacement prior to the ninth inning.[1] The next batter, Michel Hernández, struck out swinging on a two-seam fastball with a 3–2 account. The final batter, Jason Bartlett, hit a ground ball to shortstop Alexei Ramírez, who threw it to first baseman Josh Fields (Paul Konerko was the designated hitter for the day) to finish off the history-making moment at 3:10 PM CT.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rays (52–44) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| White Sox (50–45) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 6 | 0 |
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BATTING
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| Score | Out | RoB | Pit(cnt) | Batter | Pitcher | Play description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | CF B.J. Upton | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: 2B-1B |
| 0–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(1–2) | LF Carl Crawford | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: P-1B |
| 0–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(1–2) | 3B Evan Longoria | Mark Buehrle | Strikeout Swinging |
| 1st inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 0–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(1–2) | CF Scott Podsednik | Scott Kazmir | Strikeout Looking |
| 0–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | SS Alexei Ramírez | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: LF (Short LF-CF) |
| 0–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(2–2) | RF Jermaine Dye | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: LF (Deep LF Line) |
| 2nd inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 7,(3–2) | 1B Carlos Peña | Mark Buehrle | Foulout: 1B (1B Foul) |
| 0–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(2–2) | 2B Ben Zobrist | Mark Buehrle | Strikeout Swinging |
| 0–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(2–2) | DH Pat Burrell | Mark Buehrle | Flyout: RF (Deep CF-RF) |
| 2nd inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 0–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(1–2) | DH Paul Konerko | Scott Kazmir | Single to RF (Line Drive to Short RF) |
| 0–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(3–1) | LF Carlos Quentin | Scott Kazmir | Walk; Konerko to 2B |
| 0–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | 3B Gordon Beckham | Scott Kazmir | Strikeout Swinging |
| 0–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 8,(3–2) | 2B Jayson Nix | Scott Kazmir | Strikeout Swinging |
| 0–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(0–2) | C Ramón Castro | Scott Kazmir | Single to LF (Line Drive); Konerko to 3B; Quentin to 2B |
| 0–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(3–1) | 1B Josh Fields | Scott Kazmir | Home Run (Flyball to Deep LF); Konerko Scores; Quentin Scores; Castro Scores |
| 4–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(0–2) | CF Scott Podsednik | Scott Kazmir | Groundout: SS-1B (Weak SS) |
| 3rd inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–4 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 7,(2–2) | RF Gabe Kapler | Mark Buehrle | Flyout: LF (LF-CF) |
| 0–4 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(0–2) | C Michel Hernández | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: SS-1B (Weak SS-2B) |
| 0–4 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | SS Jason Bartlett | Mark Buehrle | Flyout: LF (LF-CF) |
| 3rd inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 4–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 8,(3–2) | SS Alexei Ramírez | Scott Kazmir | Walk |
| 4–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | RF Jermaine Dye | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: RF (Deep 2B-1B) |
| 4–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | DH Paul Konerko | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: CF (Deep CF-RF) |
| 4–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | LF Carlos Quentin | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: CF (Deep CF) |
| 4th inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–4 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | CF B.J. Upton | Mark Buehrle | Strikeout Swinging |
| 0–4 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(1–1) | LF Carl Crawford | Mark Buehrle | Flyout: LF |
| 0–4 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | 3B Evan Longoria | Mark Buehrle | Lineout: SS (Weak SS) |
| 4th inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 4–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | 3B Gordon Beckham | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: LF (LF-CF) |
| 4–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(1–2) | 2B Jayson Nix | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: RF (Short CF-RF) |
| 4–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | C Ramón Castro | Scott Kazmir | Walk |
| 4–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(1–1) | 1B Josh Fields | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: CF (Deep CF) |
| 5th inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–4 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(2–1) | 1B Carlos Peña | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: 1B-P (2B-1B) |
| 0–4 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | 2B Ben Zobrist | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: SS-1B (Weak SS) |
| 0–4 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(2–2) | DH Pat Burrell | Mark Buehrle | Strikeout Swinging |
| 5th inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 4–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | CF Scott Podsednik | Scott Kazmir | Double to RF (Ground Ball) |
| 4–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | SS Alexei Ramírez | Scott Kazmir | Double to RF (Ground Ball); Podsednik Scores |
| 5–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(1–2) | RF Jermaine Dye | Scott Kazmir | Strikeout Swinging |
| 5–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | DH Paul Konerko | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: LF (Deep LF-CF) |
| 5–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | LF Carlos Quentin | Scott Kazmir | Groundout: 2B-1B |
| 6th inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–5 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(2–0) | RF Gabe Kapler | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: 3B-1B (Weak 3B) |
| 0–5 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(0–2) | C Michel Hernández | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: 3B-1B (Weak SS) |
| 0–5 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 7,(3–2) | SS Jason Bartlett | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: SS-1B (Weak SS) |
| 6th inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 5–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(1–0) | 3B Gordon Beckham | Scott Kazmir | Popout: 1B (P's Left) |
| 5–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | 2B Jayson Nix | Scott Kazmir | Hit By Pitch |
| 5–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(2–2) | C Ramón Castro | Scott Kazmir | Strikeout Looking |
| 5–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(1–2) | 1B Josh Fields | Scott Kazmir | Flyout: LF (LF-CF) |
| 7th inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–5 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(2–1) | CF B.J. Upton | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: SS-1B (Weak SS) |
| 0–5 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(2–1) | LF Carl Crawford | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: P-1B (P's Left) |
| 0–5 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 1,(0–0) | 3B Evan Longoria | Mark Buehrle | Flyout: RF (Deep RF) |
| 7th inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 5–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | CF Scott Podsednik | Lance Cormier | Groundout: P-1B (Weak 2B) |
| 5–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(0–1) | SS Alexei Ramírez | Lance Cormier | Single to LF (Line Drive to LF-CF) |
| 5–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | RF Jermaine Dye | Lance Cormier | Groundout: 3B-1B (Weak 3B); Ramírez to 2B |
| 5–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | DH Paul Konerko | Lance Cormier | Groundout: 3B-1B (Weak 3B) |
| 8th inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–5 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(0–2) | 1B Carlos Peña | Mark Buehrle | Strikeout Looking |
| 0–5 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 7,(3–2) | 2B Ben Zobrist | Mark Buehrle | Foulout: 3B (3B Foul) |
| 0–5 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 7,(2–2) | DH Pat Burrell | Mark Buehrle | Lineout: 3B (Weak 3B) |
| 8th inning for White Sox | ||||||
| 5–0 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 2,(1–0) | LF Carlos Quentin | Dale Thayer | Flyout: CF (Deep CF) |
| 5–0 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 3,(0–2) | 3B Gordon Beckham | Dale Thayer | Flyout: LF (Deep LF) |
| 5–0 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 5,(2–2) | 2B Jayson Nix | Dale Thayer | Strikeout Looking |
| 9th inning for Rays | ||||||
| 0–5 | 0 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(2–2) | RF Gabe Kapler | Mark Buehrle | Flyout: CF (Deep LF-CF) |
| 0–5 | 1 | ◊◊◊ | 6,(3–2) | C Michel Hernández | Mark Buehrle | Strikeout Swinging |
| 0–5 | 2 | ◊◊◊ | 4,(2–1) | SS Jason Bartlett | Mark Buehrle | Groundout: SS-1B (Weak SS) |
As Buehrle exited the field after the eighth inning, White Sox broadcaster Ken Harrelson exclaimed, "Call your sons! Call your daughters! Call your friends! Call your neighbors! Mark Buehrle has a perfect game going into the ninth!" As the final ground ball of the game rolled towards White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramírez, Harrelson called out: "Alexei?!" As Ramirez completed the throw to first baseman Josh Fields, Harrelson shouted, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! History!"[19]
Though many did not like Harrelson's lack of verbosity and obvious hometown boosterism at the concluding moment of the game,[20] others felt the outburst of emotion captured exactly what they were feeling as the perfect game was sealed.[21]
With the final out, the White Sox players ran onto the field, hugging each other. President Barack Obama called Buehrle to congratulate him on his perfect game.[22] Then his wife Jamie and her baby daughter Brooklyn came to the U.S. Cellular Field from the home in Missouri to congratulate Mark.[23] On July 29, 2009 Illinois Governor Pat Quinn declared July 30 "Mark Buehrle Day". On August 4 before the game against the Los Angeles Angels, the White Sox held a special ceremony and provided "perfect game" and "MLB Record-Setting" giveaways for fans attending the Sox-Angels series. This series against the Angels was called "The Buehrle Appreciation Series".[24]
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