 Dallas Braden in 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | May 9, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Oakland, California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Television | Comcast SportsNet California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Glen Kuiper (play-by-play) Ray Fosse (color commentary) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On May 9, 2010,Dallas Braden of theOakland Athletics threw aperfect game against theTampa Bay Rays atOakland–Alameda County Coliseum. It was the 19th perfect game inMajor League Baseball history. Braden threw 109 pitches,struck out 6 of the 27batters he faced, and had agame score of 93.
Braden's perfect game occurred onMother's Day, a holiday he resented due to the death of his mother frommelanoma. He got drunk the night before and was still suffering from the effects of ahangover when he got to the stadium. Of the 27 batters Braden faced, theat bats that posed the greatest threat wereJason Bartlett's at bat in the firstinning andGabe Kapler's at bat in the ninth inning. Bartlett hit aline drive that forcedthird basemanKevin Kouzmanoff to make a jumping catch. In Kapler's at bat, Braden incorrectly believed thecount was two balls and two strikes when it was actually three balls and one strike. Braden threw a pitch outside of thestrike zone, and had Kapler not swung at it, he would have drawn awalk and ended the perfect game.
Braden's grandmother, Peggy Lindsey — who raised him after his mother died — was in attendance. After the final out was recorded, the two hugged on the field and kissed theSaint Christopher medallion Braden was wearing. Braden would suffer from injuries throughout the remainder of his career and retired from baseball in 2014. He then became asports commentator forESPN andNBC Sports California. In 2023, he provided commentary forDomingo Germán's perfect game against the Athletics, making him the only person to have both thrown a perfect game and called a perfect game as a commentator.
In baseball, aperfect game occurs when apitcher (or pitchers) complete a full game with nobatter from the opposing teamreaching base.[1] In baseball leagues that feature nine-inning games likeMajor League Baseball (MLB), this means the pitchers involved must record an out against 27 consecutive batters, without allowing anyhits,walks,hit batsmen,uncaught third strikes,catcher's or fielder's interference, orfielding errors.[1] It is widely considered by sportswriters to be the hardest single-game accomplishment in the sport, as it requires an incredible pitching performance, defensive support, and immense luck to pull off.[2][3] Since 1876, there have been over 237,000 games officially recognized by MLB; only 24 have been perfect games.[1] Prior to Braden's perfect game, the most recent occurrence was in 2009, whenMark Buehrle of theChicago White Sox threw one against theTampa Bay Rays.[2]
Dallas Braden made his debut for theOakland Athletics in 2007 and, by 2009, had cemented his role as astarting pitcher for the team.[4] Shortly before his perfect game, Braden made national headlines when he got into an argument withNew York Yankees playerAlex Rodriguez.[5] During an April 22 game, Rodriguez walked across thepitcher's mound, to which Braden took exception.[5] Braden said: "I don't care if I'mCy Young or the 25th man on a roster, if I've got the ball in my hand and I'm out there on that mound, that's not your mound."[5] Rodriguez dismissed the pitcher after the game and stated, "I really don't want to extend his extra15 minutes of fame."[6] The argument became a notable story in New York-basedtabloids, and many outlets likePardon the Interruption echoed Rodriguez's remarks of Braden's supposed irrelevance.[6][7]
Braden's perfect game took place onMother's Day, a holiday he resented due to the death of his mother, Jodie Atwood, frommelanoma.[8][9] After Atwood's death, Braden was raised by his grandmother Peggy Lindsey, who attended every game he started.[9] The night before, Braden wanted to numb the pain of Mother's Day and decided to get drunk with some of his friends.[9]
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Braden's perfect game occurred on May 9, 2010.[10] The Athletics were playing the Rays atOakland–Alameda County Coliseum inOakland, California.[11] The attendance was 12,228.[11] Braden woke uphungover and arrived at the stadium much later than normal.[9] Athletics video coordinator Adam Rhoden noted that Braden usually would spend two hours before every game readingscouting reports of opposingbatters, but for that game, he only had enough time towarm up and play catch with hiscatcher,Landon Powell.[9] Braden confided his emotions with Powell, who noticed how the lack of preparation was affecting the pitcher.[9] According to Powell, "He did panic that day a little more than he normally did."[9]
The first batter of the game for the Rays wasJason Bartlett, who hit aline drive that forcedthird basemanKevin Kouzmanoff to make a jumping catch.[10] TheAssociated Press later described it as "the closest the Rays got to a hit".[12] After Bartlett'sat bat, Braden induced outs from the next 8 batters, includingstrikeouts toB.J. Upton andWilly Aybar.[11] In the second inning, the Athletics took the lead when Powell hit asingle that scored Kouzmanoff for arun batted in (RBI).[11] Kouzmanoff then hit an RBI single in the third inning that scoredfirst basemanDaric Barton to give the Athletics a 2–0 lead.[11]
In the fourth inning, Bartlett again threatened to end the perfect game when he hit a slow ground ball to Kouzmanoff, who had to make a running throw to an outstretched Barton to record the out.[13] Braden later remarked, "[Kouzmanoff] was literally everywhere that day."[10] After the Athletics extended their lead to 4–0, Braden facedEvan Longoria in the fifth inning.[11] Longoria attempted tobunt for a hit, but the bunt attempt resulted in afoul ball, and Longoria struck out to end the at bat.[14] The bunt attempt drew boos from the crowd, as bunting to break up a perfect game is commonly seen as breaking one of theunwritten rules of baseball.[12][14] When asked about the bunt, Longoria said, "At that point, you're really not thinking about the guy's perfect game orno-hitter; you're just trying to get back into the game."[14]
In the sixth inning, Braden struck out Aybar and induced two foulpop-ups that were caught by Kouzmanoff.[15] The second pop-up was the result of a 12-pitch at bat fromGabe Kapler. Braden noted it was during Kapler's lengthy at bat that he started to realize the magnitude of his pitching performance. "That's when it kind of hit me," according to Braden.[16] After an uneventful seventh inning, Braden got Longoria to fly out to begin the eighth inning and induced a foul pop-up fromCarlos Peña that was caught by Kouzmanoff.[17] The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum has a notably large foul territory, which allowed Kouzmanoff to sprint after the pop-up and catch it just in front of the Athletics'dugout.[17] After a strikeout to Upton, Braden was perfect through eight innings.[11]
Aybar led off the ninth inning with a soft line drive that was caught by Barton.[11]Dioner Navarro then hit a fly ball that was caught byright fielderEric Patterson.[11] The final batter of the game was Kapler.[18] With acount of two balls and one strike, Braden threw a pitch that was called a ball byumpireJim Wolf.[18] Braden believed Wolf had called it a strike and incorrectly assumed the count was two balls and two strikes.[18] Powell wanted Braden to throw achangeup, but Braden instead threw afastball outside of thestrike zone, which Kapler hit toshortstopCliff Pennington for the final out of the game.[18] Had Kapler not swung, he would have drawn a walk and broken up the perfect game.[18] According to Braden: "If it's 3-1, I'm throwing a changeup 100% of the time. If it's 2-2, like it was in my mind, I'm throwing a fastball, because he's probably looking to cover the changeup. So he got the 87 mph fastball, and I got away with it."[18]
The game lasted 2 hours and 7 minutes, and Braden had thrown 107 pitches.[11] Of the 27 batters he faced, Braden struck out 6; he had agame score of 93.[11]
After recording the final out, Braden celebrated with his teammates on the field.[18] Eventually, his grandmother Peggy Lindsey made her way onto the field, and the two hugged and kissed theSaint Christopher medallion Braden was wearing.[19] Lindsey said to reporters, "Stick it, A-Rod", referring to Alex Rodriguez.[12] Rodriguez responded by saying, "I've learned in my career that it's always better to be remembered for some of the good things you do on the field, and good for him. He threw a perfect game. And, even better, he beat the Rays."[12] Three days later, Braden appeared on theLate Show with David Letterman to read theTop Ten List of thoughts that went through his mind while he threw the perfect game.[20]
Braden would finish the 2010 season with awin-loss record of 11–14 and a 3.50earned run average (ERA).[21] He would start just three games in 2011 before he needed surgery to repair a torncapsule in his left shoulder.[22] Injuries plagued his career, and after missing two full seasons, Braden announced his retirement in 2014.[5] His career record was 26–36 with a 4.16 ERA.[21] After retirement, Braden became asports commentator forESPN andNBC Sports California.[23] In 2023, Braden provided commentary forDomingo Germán's perfect game against the Athletics, making him the only person to have both thrown a perfect game and called a perfect game as a commentator.[24] When asked about the impact the perfect game had on his life, Braden remarked, "Without that, I don't know why I would have an opportunity to start on a national media scale at ESPN. There were just opportunities abound after that night, and I know that it's because I had one good day at work."[24]
Statistics taken fromBaseball-Reference.com.[11]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Tampa Bay Rays (22–9) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Oakland Athletics (17–15) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 4 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Dallas Braden (4–2) LP:James Shields (4–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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