New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán made history Wednesday when he pitched a perfect game against the Oakland Athletics, allowing no hits and no walks in an 11-0 win.
Most of the crowd at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum stood during the ninth inning as they watched the right-hander pitch only the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball’s 147-year history, and the first one since Seattle Mariner Felix Hernandez pitched one on Aug. 15, 2012.
“So exciting,” Germán said in an interview with the YES Network. “When you think about something very unique in baseball, you know not many people have an opportunity to pitch a perfect game.
“To accomplish something like this in my career, you know (it) is something that I’m going to remember forever, be part of history.”
Germán, who was born in the Dominican Republic, said that during the game he was thinking of his uncle who died this week
Domingo Germán dedicated this perfect game to his uncle, who passed away two days ago
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 29, 2023
German says he cried a lot yesterday and thought about him throughout the game tonight pic.twitter.com/t3sW4y6WF8
“Unfortunately, two days ago an uncle of mine passed away, and … I cried a lot yesterday in the clubhouse. So, I had him with me throughout the whole game. I was thinking about him … and it happened,” Germán said.
Germán’s perfect game was the fourth perfect game thrown by a Yankees pitcher. David Cone, David Wells and Don Larsen each pitched perfect games for the franchise. Larson famously did so in the 1956 World Series.
In addition to a perfect game, Germán threw what is known as a Maddux, according to mlb.com. A Maddux is a shutout in fewer than 100 pitches. Germán threw 99 pitches in Wednesday’s win.
And because baseball is nothing if not statistics, Germán added a few more records with the win.
- Of all 24 perfect games in MLB history, Germán’s is the first to come from a pitcher who lost by more than 10 runs in his previous outing, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Last week Germán surrendered 10 runs on eight hits in a game against the Mariners.
- Germán also became the first Dominican-born pitcher to throw a perfect game in the MLB, and the first person to throw a perfect game while wearing the number zero.
- During the game, Germán threw his 500th strikeout.
Germán’s tenure with the Yankees hasn’t always been smooth. He missed the final nine regular-season games in 2019 when he accepted an 81-game suspension from MLB for violating the Joint MLB-MLBPA Domestic Violence Policy.
In May, he received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine for violating the prohibitions on foreign substances, which resulted in his ejection in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Watch Germán throw the final pitches in Wednesday’s game:
