On the radio this morning I was reminded that 3 years ago today, on July 23, 2009, Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game. It was just a quick reminder of a great event in White Sox history, yet thousands of memories came rushing to my mind. A lot of the memories were totally useless trivia, tidbits that are only fascinating to an avid sports fan. Here's what I remembered in that fleeting moment (before I looked up any of the facts, scout's honor):
-Buehrle shut down the Rays, who ranked close to the top of the league in OBP and runs scored in the majors in 2009.
-Ramon Castro, and not A.J. Pierzynski caught the perfecto.
-Castro and Buehrle had worked together so few times that Castro wasn't even aware that Buehrle had a curveball in his repertoire.
-Josh Fields hit a grand slam early on in the game giving Buehrle a nice cushion of run support. Sort of a mundane fact unless you're a White Sox fan who is familiar with how highly-touted Fields was as a prospect in the Sox farm system, and then how awfully he performed during his brief time with the major league club.
-There were many close calls that almost broke up the perfect game even before the 9th inning, including a couple of shots that landed just foul of the left field line, and more than a couple of 3 ball counts.
-Alexei Ramirez fielded a grounder and fired it to Josh Fields for the final out. Fields, normally a third baseman was only manning first base to give Paulie a day of "rest" as the team's designated hitter.
-Dewayne Wise made "the Catch" as Sox fans have dubbed it (hopefully Willy Mays gets some royalties) when Gabe Kapler led of the 9th with a shot to left center that would have cleared the fence for a home run. The perfect game, no-hitter, and shutout should have been wiped away if not for Wise (who was playing very shallow to take away any cheap bloopers). Dewayne took a perfect route to the wall, and soared over the fence at absolute maximum speed. He caught the ball, but the impact of a 200 lb man hitting the wall at full speed (full speed for Dewayne Wise is different than full speed for me or you. Unless Dewayne is reading my blog, in which case, hi Dewayne!) caused the ball to come out of his glove's webbing. As Wise stumbled to the ground he reached out and secured the precariously bobbling pill by trapping it with his glove and bare hand, then somersaulted forward and landed on his feet with the ball still somehow safe and sound in his throwing hand, as if he was a gymnast who had the whole thing planned out, then he stuck the landing.
Maybe the fact that I remember this much detail about a regular season game is a waste of the limited memory capacity that I possess, but I was more struck by the non-baseball details I remember so vividly about this game. Here's some of the other details that really stick with me regarding Buehrle's perfecto:
-I didn't watch a minute of the game live. It was a day game, and although I had the day off, and there are few things I love more than relaxing and watching a baseball game, I was more excited about spending the time at the Lincoln Park zoo with Kate, who I had recently started dating at the time.
-While I always enjoy the zoo, I remember Kate being exceptionally annoyed with me. I generally check baseball scores in public too often, but Kate could tell that on this particular day I was much more distracted by the scores on my cellphone than usual. Whenever Kate asked what was up, being the superstitious jackass that I am, I continued to respond, "I can't tell you right now."
(side note: I'm very superstitious, but nothing is worse than when I'm watching a sporting event. When things don't go well for my team, for some reason I feel like if I change the spot I'm sitting in, or whether or not the game is recording, or whether or not I have a drink, I can change the outcome of a game. My unhinged behavior becomes even more concentrated during a no-hitter or perfect game in progress, probably because it's such a helpless feeling to watch a potentially historic event that could come to a screeching halt on any pitch. So, yes, I'm all for the not talking about a no-no superstition, and I'll take it to the next level if I have to.)
-I remember receiving texts from my dad, my brother, my college friends, my high school friends, some of whom I hadn't talked to in years. Perhaps they were all persuaded by Hawk Harrelson who prior to the start of the 9th inning exclaimed, "Call your sons! Call your daughters! Call your friends! Call your neighbors! Mark Buehrle has a perfect game going into the 9th!" I don't think Sox fans needed any nudging, since I received almost all of my texts in the 6th or 7th innings and then everyone got quiet and superstitious like me. I also remember taking the opportunity to catch up with my brother and my dad and some of those friends I hadn't talked to in a while after the game ended. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in the grind of our everyday lives, but sports has a way of bringing people together, whether it's people you see or talk to everyday like my family members, or friends that I haven't talked to in far too long.
-I remember watching the replay of the game with my roommates, discussing where we were and what we were doing when Dewayne made "the Catch," reciting our favorite Hawkisms from the game, and debating the proper superstition protocol of no-hitters (when it's ok to text someone, how often announcers should alert the viewing audience as to what is happening, etc.)
All of these non-baseball moments remain as vivid and real to me now as they were when they happened. While the normal grind of a baseball regular season can get monotonous, baseball is great because something special or historic can happen any day, any at-bat, or any pitch. When something as special as the 18th perfect game happens out of the blue, it's memorable for sports fans, of course. But for me, these special moments act as a time capsule; I can remember what I was doing with my life at the time, where I lived, who was important to me, what I enjoyed doing in my spare time, the list goes on. If you asked me what was happening in my life in 2009, I'd have no idea because it's hard to place myself with a number. But if you ask me what I was doing when Buehrle threw his perfecto, everything immediately comes into focus, and someday when I'm old and gray, memories like these will be my most valuable just because I'll be able to remember who I was and what I've become since then.
Fast forward to present day, that girlfriend of mine who was so annoyed with my constant checking of the Sox score at the zoo still feels that way on a regular basis, as I'll be marrying her in 3 months. Thank goodness she's a Sox fan too otherwise I'm not sure how she'd be able to put up with my superstitions/quirks/oddities. While my former roommates have all graduated from college and all have different jobs/professions than they had in 2009, somethings never change, and I still talk about baseball, the White Sox, Hawkisms and other such things on a regular basis with those guys. Recently I remember texting back and forth with my brother and my dad during Phil Humber's perfect game (I was listening to Farmio and DJ on the radio on my way to a wedding gig for that one, but that's for another blog), and while the communication during the perfecto has remained the same, now my brother is also engaged and living in Aurora while my dad's role in newspaper business has taken several different forms over the last 3 years.
With all of the specific details I remember about Buehrle's actual game, it wasn't just the game itself that made me smile when I reflected on the events of July 23, 2009. It makes me happy to remember what life was like 3 years ago with such brilliant specificity. It makes me feel so blessed to think about all of the great things that have happened in my life in the 3 years since. Sure, it was just a regular season game in the middle of the summer, but the beautiful thing about baseball is that a game that should have been just like any other has the power to bring friends and family together, while also being so significant that I can time mentally jump in the Delorean and travel back to that day any time I wish. On July 23, 2009, Mark Buehrle was perfect. And thanks to Mark, Dewayne, and all of my friends, family, and loved ones, I'll always remember that day with perfect clarity.
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