Domingo Germán etched himself into the history books in an incredible way Wednesday night (June 28). The 30-year-old New York Yankees pitcher threw the first perfect game in 11 years. It was only the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball (MLB) history and only the fourth in Yankees history.
The last perfect game thrown was by Seattle Mariners pitcher Felix Hernández on August 15, 2012.
In nine innings of baseball, Germán, who was born in the Dominican Republic, did not allow any hits or walks on 99 pitches. He threw 72 strikes and struck out nine players. The Yankees beat the Oakland Athletics, 11-0.
According to ESPN, Germán is the first pitcher born in the Dominican Republic to pitch a perfect game. The three other Yankees to pitch a perfect game were Don Larsen in 1956 (in the World Series), David Wells in 1998, and David Cone in 1999.
After the game, Germán said he had been thinking “all game long” about throwing a perfect game. “When you think about something very unique in baseball, you know not many people have an opportunity to pitch a perfect game,” Germán said. “To accomplish something like this in my career, you know, it’s something that I am going to remember forever, be part of history, so exciting.”
Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka added: “I’m just happy for Domingo. He’s had a rough last couple starts and been dragging a little bit. For him to do this and get back to being himself? I always felt like if anyone, he had a really good chance to do something like this. For it to all come together tonight, it’s just amazing.”