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Friday, January 28, 2022

Perfection. What are the Odds?

Let me start off by saying that this is probably the last blog post I ever expected to write. But, somehow I just couldn’t help it.

When I was a kid, I was a big Mets fan. In my neck of the woods, you had two choices – Mets or Yankees. I’m not sure why I ended up as a Mets fan, but it probably had something to do with rooting for the underdog, and Tom Seaver.

My dad had always promised to take me to a Mets game, but it never ended up happening for one reason or another. And I grew up, and moved on to other things, and gave away my massive baseball card collection (minus my Tom Seaver card) to my friend’s little brother (yes, I’m kicking myself).

So, fast forward to a few decades later, and I’m on the road – first to Netroots Nation in Providence, then on a mini book tour with the amazing Lizz Winstead and Shannyn Moore in Boston, then on to New York City for fun and frolic on Shannyn’s birthday, and now for a few days in California visiting friends. It’s been an interesting coming and going of friends old and new, Alaskans and Mudflatters. We’ve called ourselves “the pod” at any given time, and that’s what it feels like. John and Heather Aronno from Alaska Commons; Shannyn and Lizz; Zach Roberts, and Thomas Dewar of The Mudflats, and other wonderful folks along the way from east coast to west, blending Alaska and the east coast in various configurations.

It just so happens that on the last leg of the trip, I have the opportunity to attend a San Francisco Giants game. “Why not?” think I. I mean, it’s not the 1979 Mets, but… OK.

So off I go to AT&T Park, the beautiful stadium by the bay – sun shining, gulls circling, vendors selling hot cocoa, and corn dogs, and churros.  A guy in a motorized jet pack zoomed past with massive jets of water streaming out of his vest, sailboats tacked back and forth by the stadium. Happy people cheering for their favorite players, and just enjoying being in community with other people over a beer and some cotton candy.

Matt Cain was pitching. And right off the bat he was doing well. No hits in the first inning. Or the second. Or the third. By the time we got to the 6th inning, people started realizing that maybe, just maybe, this could be something special. Because if Cain managed to get 13 strikeouts, spectators would get free bags of bratwurst.

During the 7th inning, two very important things happened. First, the bratwurst was won. There was some serious confusion if everyone in the stadium had won the bratwurst, and when everyone realized that only the Arcade level had won the coveted meat, those in the upper levels began muttering loudly. There was discontent.

The second thing that happened was that a long fly ball arched toward the outfield wall. It looked for sure like it was headed over and the no-hitter would become a dream.  But an amazing and unlikely diving catch by Gregor Blanco had the crowd on its feet cheering. It was still possible. Suddenly the bratwurst injury was forgotten. A no-hitter? It could even be a perfect game… Everyone held their breath.

It had struck me by this point, that this was the first baseball game I’d ever attended in my life. And not only that, but it was the first professional sporting event of any kind I’d ever attended in my life. It seemed almost surreal. There was nothing I could do with my unexpected good fortune, except try to enjoy it on behalf of all those who were not as lucky as I.

Then the agony began. The eighth inning. Every time a batter from the unfortunate Houston Astros came to the plate to take what was  coming, the crowd was on its feet clapping, and cheering. There were a couple ‘3 balls, 2 strikes’ situations that had everyone in knots, but Cain managed to pull it out each time. The ritual was repeated – clapping, watching, holding breath, realizing he’d done it, massive exhalation of breath, wild cheering. By the ninth inning, you could feel the electricity. The stadium was reverberating with applause. One down…. two down… then, the unthinkable. A hit. What looked like it was going to be a base hit. But an amazing catch at third, and a throw to first, and the batter was out with milliseconds to spare.

 

The crowd roared. People began leaping up and down, hugging. Matt Cain was swarmed by his teammates on the mound, the jumbotron flashed the images of victory and celebration. The game was over. 10-0 Giants, with 14 strikeouts. And perfect.

Not only did Matt Cain pitch the 22nd perfect game in history, he spun one of the most dominant performances ever.

Based on the Bill James statistic “game score,” Cain’s 14-strikeout game adds up to 101 points, tied for first among nine-inning no-hitters and perfect games with Nolan Ryan’s 1991 no-no vs. the Toronto Blue Jays and Sandy Koufax’s 1965 perfecto against the Chicago Cubs.

This was the 22nd perfect game ever in Major League history. Think about that. And not only was it a perfect game, it tied for the MOST perfect game. Pretty amazing. The odds of this are not lost on me. I was told that if Barry Zito pitched a perfect game today, that I wouldn’t be allowed to leave San Francisco.

I’m finishing up this post sitting at AT&T Park during my second baseball game ever, and I’m a little confused. Barry Zito keeps letting all these guys from the other team get on base. What’s up with THAT?

He even walked all the bases full, and the Astros scored a grand slam home run. Hmm. I guess there’s no danger of me being forced to stay here against my will by superstitious baseball fans. See you home soon.

Comments

comments

Comments
20 Responses to “Perfection. What are the Odds?”
  1. bluejay says:

    We saw the Bucs win their first double header against the Pilots last week!!

  2. Andrea says:

    That was awesome!!! What a wonderful experience that your words allowed me to experience. Thank you.

  3. John says:

    How can one perfect game be more perfect than another? Perfection is perfection.

  4. laurainnocal says:

    I grew up a Mets (’69 Amazing Mets) fan also (Jersey girl) Seaver, Cleon Jones, Tommy Agee et al. And yeah, it was definitely the underdog thing. How fantastic that you experienced a perfect game at our wonderful ATT Park. It is an excellent venue. Congrats to the SF Giants and Matt Cain!

  5. Rick DuPuis says:

    Wow, congrats…the only MLB game you’ve been to turns out to be a perfect game. As a lifelong SF Giants fan, your experience at AT&T is especially cool to me.

  6. Neil says:

    In the National League, which the Giants are a part of, the pitchers have to hit. Pitchers are notoriously bad at hitting. In the American League, they have the designated hitter, a guy who does nothing but crush the ball. Therefore, in the NL, at least 2 and likely 3 batters during a 9 inning game are a joke, a waste of time.

    Getting a no hitter, or a perfect game in the National League is significantly easier than in the American League because of this.

    Oh, and AT&T park’s dimensions are not legitimate per the MLB rule book–why they allowed this park to be built this way, we’ll never know. I’ve sent letters but never heard back. Check it out:

    http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/downloads/y2011/Official_Baseball_Rules.pdf

    Rule 1.04 to 1.07
    2
    The foul lines and all other playing lines indicated in the diagrams by solid black
    lines shall be marked with paint or non-toxic and non-burning chalk or other white material.
    The grass lines and dimensions shown on the diagrams are those used in many
    fields, but they are not mandatory and each club shall determine the size and shape of the
    grassed and bare areas of its playing field.
    NOTE: (a) Any Playing Field constructed by a professional club after June 1,
    1958, shall provide a minimum distance of 325 feet from home
    base to the nearest fence, stand or other obstruction on the right and
    left field foul lines, and a minimum distance of 400 feet to the
    center field fence.
    (b) No existing playing field shall be remodeled after June 1, 1958, in
    such manner as to reduce the distance from home base to the foul
    poles and to the center field fence below the minimum specified in
    paragraph (a) above.

    So basically, every game played at AT&T park is not a legitimate major league game. Therefore, the Giants still have never won the World Series, and Matt Cain did not pitch a legitimate perfect game.

    Go A’s!

  7. zyxomma says:

    Lucky AKM! What a cherry on top of your trip. Speaking of trips, I’d love to see a video of the no-hitter Dock Ellis pitched while under the influence of LSD.

  8. laurainnocal says:

    How fantastic for you to be apart of such exciting history. I also grew up a Mets fan (Jersey girl) with
    Tom Seavers, Cleon Jones, Tommy Agee and the rest of the Amazing Mets crew. ATT Park is indeed wonderful. A perfect venue for a perfect game. So glad you enjoyed our town and team! Thank you Matt and the Giants for being so special.

  9. tigerwine says:

    Ooooh! What fun! I know the pitcher deserves most of the credit, but I was fascinated by the speed and accuracy of the first and third basemen. Played the first part of that video 4 times to see that!

  10. Alex says:

    Now you need a triple play!

  11. benlomond2 says:

    Zito lost his mojo when he left the A’s and went to the Giants. Youngest daughter – the RABID A’s fan -was unfit company for weeks … and still curses Zito whenever she sees him on TV….”DAD! WHY do you have the GIANTS on !! ” ( me bad!! hehehe) Glad you were able to experience a Special Game, as well as a normal one for the Giants..pretty exciting , isn’t it ?!?!

  12. COalmostNative says:

    Congrats- what a game to see! Ubaldo Jimenez, then pitcher for our Colorado Rockies, pitched the only no-hitter April 2010 against the Braves… Unfortunately in Atlanta.

    As a kid, my dad’s company sponsored a team annually at the College World Series- so I was thrilled to see several, when it was still played at Rosenblatt.

  13. slipstream says:

    No brats for you!

  14. leenie17 says:

    Back in the 1990s, I was running a competitive sports program for kids with disabilities, based on Long Island. Many of the local NY sports teams would do PSAs for our event or visit during the competitions to sign autographs or pose for pictures with the kids.

    One year, our PR person arranged for Gregg Jefferies to do a PSA, taped at Shea Stadium. I ended up writing the script, making the cue cards and holding them for Jefferies while he taped the spot. I have a couple of pictures of the two of us, taken by our PR person. I also have an even better one of me sitting on the bench of the dugout…home side, of course!

    I was never a huge baseball fan (much preferring football), but even I thought it was insanely cool to be on the infield with a player and sitting in the Mets dugout!

    That same year I also did a PSA taping at Yankee Stadium, but I can’t remember who the player was and it didn’t seem quite as exciting as being in the stadium I’d passed on the parkway so many times!

    🙂

  15. WC has long since given up any hope that the universe is fair. AKM goes to her first baseball game, ever, and sees one of the 22 perfect games, ever. WC has been waiting through decades of baseball games, thousands of baseball games, for the Cubs to even play in the World Series, let alone win, and remains utterly disappointed.

    Congratulations nonetheless. One minor nit: “gulls,” AKM, not “seagulls.” An error guaranteed to drive birders to distraction.

    /WC

    • Jeanne Devon says:

      In humble deference, AKM has edited to ‘gulls’ in the hope that WC will receive some amount of comfort in these personally troubling times. AKM has also purchased a lottery ticket today, and will treat WC to a beer if she wins.

    • slipstream says:

      What? You never heard of Jonathan Livingston Seagull?