In case you missed it, New York Yankees starter Domingo Germán pitched the 24th perfect game in MLB history.
He was the fourth in Yankee history, after Don Larsen, David Wells and David Cone.
The most incredible thing about this is that German had been hit for eight earned runs in just 3.1 innings in his most recent outing against the Seattle Mariners; and in the one before that, he gave up seven runs in two frames against the Boston Red Sox.
Sure, facing the lowly Oakland Athletics might have helped, but this one was all German: He was in complete control all night, mixing his fastball with his terrific curveball and changeup combination.
They were 27 batters up, 27 down, striking out nine batters in the process.
Behind German’s achievement, however, is a man crucial to recent Yankee history: Kyle Higashioka.
Higashioka was behind the plate, ordering the game for German and making sure his pitcher attacked the A’s weaknesses and was in the best possible position to succeed.
It was a masterclass in German, make no mistake, but your catcher deserves some credit too, especially since he’s no stranger to history.
It has in the past.
Kyle Higashioka called Corey Kluber’s no-hitter, and now Domingo Germán’s perfect game. pic.twitter.com/C9iuc61CVF
— Joe Randazzo (@Yankeelibrarian) June 29, 2023
It was a perfect game on Wednesday, but he was also the man in charge of catching duties when Corey Kluber threw a no-hitter against the Texas Rangers in May 2021.
Kluber was in the spotlight because he had missed most of the previous two seasons with injuries.
However, he was in the right place that night, and Higashioka was there to help and guide him.
Calling games is an underrated skill for Higashioka, and he proved once again that he’s one of the best in that department even though he’s not a common player for the Yanks.
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The Yankees made perfect game history with a big win
