Perfection

Mark Buehrle is my daughter's favorite player on the White Sox. When she was 3 in 2003 we went to a minor league baseball game in Burlington, IA. Emma really enjoyed the game the entire game we cheered "Go Bees Buzz!" The next time we were at a White Sox Game, I mentioned to Emma that Buerhle played for the Bees when he was in the minor leagues. She has been a big fan ever since. Every time he pitches she gets very excited when he wins. In 2004, I went to Sox Fest, and Buerhle was kind enough to sign a baseball card for Emma and wrote Go Bees!



Today Buerhle pitched a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Josh Fields' grand slam was the only offense the Sox needed as they defeated the Rays 5-0. A perfect game is a no hit game without anyone getting on base for any reason. It is possible and common to pitch a no-hitter and walk someone or hit someone with a pitch or have a batter reach base on an error. Before today there have only been 16 perfect games in the regular season and 1 in the post season.

If you are unsure what a perfect game looks like you can view each one of the 27 outs by clicking here and then pressing the play bar on the video.

Buehrle is a fan favorite for the White Sox. Earlier this summer he hit his first home run for the team. (American League pitchers only bat at inter league games in National League Parks.) Last week he pitched a perfect inning for the American League in the All Star Game in St. Louis. It was a homecoming of sorts for Buerhle who grew up in a St. Louis suburb. Buerhle met with President Obama at the All Star Game as he was in town to throw out the first pitch. Today he received a congratulatory phone call from the President.

Congratulations to Mark on his special feat.

Next Time: Garden Update