Mark Buehrle's perfect game

Chicago White Sox teammates celebrating following the final out ofMark Buehrle's perfect game.
Tampa Bay Rays Chicago White Sox 0 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa Bay Rays 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Chicago White Sox 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 x 5 6 0
Date	July 23, 2009
Venue	U. S. Cellular Field
City	Chicago,Illinois
Managers	Joe Maddon (Tampa Bay Rays) Ozzie Guillén (Chicago White Sox)
Umpires	HP:Eric Cooper 1B:Mike Reilly 2B:Chuck Meriwether 3B:Laz Díaz
Attendance	28,036
Television	Comcast SportsNet Chicago
TV announcers	Ken Harrelson (play-by-play) Steve Stone (color commentary)
Radio	WSCR
Radio announcers	Ed Farmer (play-by-play) Darrin Jackson (color commentary)

On July 23, 2009,Mark Buehrle of theChicago White Sox pitched aperfect game against theTampa Bay Rays atU. S. Cellular Field (now Rate Field) inChicago,Illinois in front of 28,036 fans. The game occurred from 1:07 PM CT to 3:10 PM CT, lasting 2 hours and 3 minutes, the shortest perfect game sinceTom Browning's on September 16, 1988, which lasted 1 hour and 51 minutes.

It was the 18th perfect game and 263rd no-hitter inMLB history, and the second perfect game and 17th no-hitter in White Sox history.The most recent perfect game at the time was on May 18, 2004, whenRandy Johnson of theArizona Diamondbacks pitched a perfect game against theAtlanta Braves atTurner Field. The last time a White Sox pitcher threw a perfect game was on April 30, 1922, whenCharlie Robertson pitched a perfecto against theDetroit Tigers atNavin Field (later known as Tiger Stadium); that was the fifth perfect game in MLB history.

Buehrle also logged his second careerno-hitter; the first was againstthe 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, the first time Buehrle and he had been battery mates. Buehrle did not once shake off Castro throughout the game.

At the time, the Rays were tied for the second-higheston-base percentage (.343) of any team, so they were one of the least likely to allow a perfect game.^[3] Buehrle's perfect game was to become the first of three perfect games and the first of four no-hitters allowed by the Rays in less than three years:

• the second was delivered byDallas Braden of the Oakland Athletics on May 9, 2010 (Mother's Day)
• the third was pitched byEdwin Jackson of the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 25, 2010^[4]
• andthe fourth, which meant the Rays tiedthe Dodgers as the only MLB franchise to allow three perfect games, being delivered byFélix Hernández on August 15, 2012.^[5]

Mark Buehrle was a 38th round pick and 1139th overall in1998 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 toMilwaukee Brewers. Then he made his first starting appearance on July 19, pitching seven innings while allowing six hits and two runs toMinnesota Twins.^[7]

On April 18, 2007 against theTexas Rangers at U.S. Cellular Field, Mark Buehrle threw his first career no-hitter. In that game, he threw 106 pitches and faced the minimum 27 batters, while allowing just one walk toSammy Sosa in the fifth inning and one out after a 3–1 pitch. He was promptlypicked off from first base while facing the next batter.^{[citation needed]}

This was the 16th no-hitter in White Sox history, the first one since August 11, 1991 whenWilson Álvarez threw one atMemorial Stadium againstthe Baltimore Orioles and first at home since September 10, 1967 whenJoel Horlen threw one againstthe Detroit Tigers.^[8]

Mark Buehrle was the 2009Opening Day starter, which he took the victory as the Sox beatthe Royals 4–2. Buehrle won five straight decisions to start the 2009 season. His record stood at 9–3 before the All-Star break, and he was voted to theAll-Star Game inBusch Stadium inSt. Louis near his hometown, where he pitched a perfect third.^{[citation needed]} On June 14, he hit the first and only home run of his career in a road game against theMilwaukee Brewers atMiller Park. After completing his perfect game, Buehrle had an 11–3pitching record with a 3.28ERA. Buehrle struggled in the games following the perfect game and he did not achieve another win until September 7 againstthe Red Sox.^[9] On September 30 in the second game of thedoubleheader, Buehrle pitched his final game of the season at Cleveland and he took the victory when the Sox shutout Cleveland 1–0.^[10] 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.^[11] He became the only active player to pitch for least two hundred innings for nine consecutive seasons after his debut in 2000.^[10]

Buehrle was named the 2010 Opening Day starter for a franchise-record eighth time.^[12] In that game, he pitched seven innings and allowed no earned runs. Incredibly, in the fifth inning, he made a spectacular play facingLou Marson of theCleveland Indians. Marson hit a ball which bounced off Buehrle's foot, and he managed to pick it up with his glove and immediately throw it backwards between his legs without looking back and1st basemanPaul Konerko caught the ball with his bare hand for the second out of the inning.^[13] This is the #1 play of the season as no other plays beat Buehrle for the remaining six months of the 2010 regular season.^[14] In the showBaseball Tonight, the "Buehrle-Meter" is used to estimate the performance of the #1 Web Gems from 1–10 where 10 is just as spectacular as Mark Buehrle's spectacular play on April 5, 2010.

In the bottom of the second inning with two outs and a 3–1 pitch,Josh Fields hit agrand slam off ofScott Kazmir, giving the White Sox a 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 double of his own, making it a 5–0 White 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 full (3–2) counts.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Rays' leadoff hitter,Gabe Kapler, hit a deep fly ball to left field-center field, whereDeWayne 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 changeup with a full (3–2) count. 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.

Sources:^[15][16]

• HBP: Nix, J by Kazmir
• Pitches-strikes: Kazmir 98–65, Cormier 20–11, Thayer, D 10–7, Buehrle 116–76
• Groundouts-flyouts: Kazmir 2–11, Cormier 3–0, Thayer, D 0–2, Buehrle 11–10
• Batters faced: Kazmir 27, Cormier 4, Thayer, D 3, Buehrle 27
• Umpires: HP –Eric Cooper, 1B –Mike Reilly, 2B –Chuck Meriwether, 3B –Laz Díaz
• Weather: 69 °F (38 °C), sunny
• Wind: 7 mph, L to R
• Time of first pitch: 1:07 PM CT
• Time: 2:03
• Attendance: 28,036
• Venue:U.S. Cellular Field

As Buehrle exited the field after the eighth inning, White Sox broadcasterKen Harrelson, calling the game onComcast SportsNet Chicago, exclaimed "Call your sons! Call your daughters! Call your friends! Call your neighbors! Mark Buehrle has a perfect game going into the ninth!"

When DeWayne Wise made the catch, Harrelson called out: "That ball hit deep into left center field. Wise back, back. Makes the catch! DeWayne Wise makes the catch! What a play by Wise! Mercy!" Upon watching the replay of Wise's catch, Harrelson declared it was "under the circumstances, one of the greatest catches I have ever seen in 50 years in this game."

As the final ground ball of the game rolled towards White Sox shortstopAlexei Ramírez, Harrelson called out: "Alexei?!" As Ramirez completed the throw to first basemanJosh Fields, Harrelson shouted, "Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! History!"^[17]

Though many did not like Harrelson’s verbosity and obvious hometownboosterism at the concluding moment of the game,^[18] others felt the outburst of emotion captured exactly what they were feeling as the perfect game was sealed.^[19]

With the final out, the White Sox players ran onto the field, hugging each other. PresidentBarack Obama, an ardent White Sox supporter, called Buehrle to congratulate him on his perfect game.^[20] Then his wife Jamie and her baby daughter Brooklyn came to theU.S. Cellular Field from their home in suburban Chicago to congratulate Mark.^[21] Buehrle's reaction was putting his glove on his head in shock before receiving hugs from his teammates.

On July 29, 2009, Mark threw5+2⁄3 perfect innings. By retiring former teammateJoe Crede, Buehrle set the new record for consecutive batters retired, beatingJim Barr (who had retired 41 consecutive batters over the course of two complete-game wins in 1971, from the third inning of one to the seventh inning of the next) and teammateBobby Jenks (who had tied Barr’s mark over 14 relief appearances in 2007). Buehrle would then go on to retire the next three batters, before walking Minnesota TwinAlexi Casilla with two outs in the sixth inning, thus foiling Buehrle’s chance of becoming the first pitcher to ever throw a second career perfect game – let alone consecutive perfect games.Denard Span followed Casilla with a single, thus foiling Buehrle’s chance of becoming the second pitcher to throw consecutive no-hitters (the first having beenJohnny Vander Meer forthe 1938 Reds); in fact, Buehrle allowed 5 runs in6+1⁄3 innings and took the loss on July 29.^[22] Combined with the last out of one appearance, his perfect game, and the 5 2/3 innings worth of perfection, Mark set the new record of 45 consecutive batters retired.^[2] This mark was broken byYusmeiro Petit with 46 over eight appearances in 2014.^[23]

On July 29, 2009 Illinois GovernorPat Quinn declared July 30 "Mark Buehrle Day". On August 4 before the game against theLos 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]

The left-center field wall where Wise made his ninth-inning home run-robbing catch is marked with the text, "The Catch".

• 2009 Major League Baseball season
• Chicago White Sox
• Major League Baseball perfect games
• July 2009 sports events in the United States
• 2009 in sports in Illinois
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