What made Major League Baseball’s 24th perfect game so historic

New York Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán joined the record books Wednesday night when he threw the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history.

Germán’s performance in the Yankees’ 11-0 win over the Oakland Athletics was historically notable for several reasons.

How Domingo Germán’s perfect game made history

• It was the first perfect game since 2012, since the Seattle Mariners’ Félix Hernández accomplished the milestone on Aug. 15, 2012. There were three perfect games that season, including others by the Chicago White Sox’s Philip Humber (April 21, 2012) and the San Francisco Giants’ Matt Cain (June 13, 2012).

• Germán became the first pitcher born in the Dominican Republic to throw a perfect game, according to ESPN.

• It’s the fourth perfect game for a Yankees pitcher, joining Don Larsen (1956), David Wells (1998) and David Cone (1999). It breaks a tie with the White Sox for most all-time by an organization, according to MLB.com.

• Germán’s outing was the first no-hitter of the season and the 15th in franchise history, according to NJ.com.

• Germán also became the first player to pitch a perfect game after giving up 10-plus runs in his previous start, per ESPN.

• The 11 runs scored by the Yankees are the most in a perfect game.

How Domingo Germán accomplished his perfect game

• Germán threw 99 pitches with 72 strikes in the game — that included a mix of 51 curveballs and 30 fastballs, 17 changeups and one sinker, according to ESPN.

• He struck out nine batters.

• The curveball was his most effective pitch — Germán recorded 20 of the 27 outs on a curveball, according to NJ.com.

• He averaged 92.5 miles per hour on his 30 fastballs, per ESPN.

• Germán only needed six pitches in the ninth inning to wrap up the historic night.

Domingo Germán’s imperfect path to a perfect game

The 30-year-old dealt with controversy and struggles prior to throwing his perfect game.

• Germán made his major league debut in 2017, then won 18 games in 2019 after breaking into the starting rotation.

• In September 2019, he was suspended for the rest of the season due to domestic violence allegations that involved his then-fiance, Mara Vega — Germán had reportedly slapped Vaga during a charity event, according to the New York Post.

• The MLB investigated and subsequently suspended him 81 games in January 2020, per the Post.

• Germán returned to the lineup in 2021, and the past two and a half seasons, he had a record of 11-15 over 46 starts prior to Wednesday night.

• He was suspended 10 games back in May for using too much rosin on his hands during a game against Toronto, per ESPN.

• In Germán’s previous two starts prior to the perfect game, he had given up seven runs against Boston, then was booed off the mound after allowing 10 runs against Seattle in just 3¹⁄₃ innings one week prior to his perfect night.

What others said about Domingo Germán’s perfect game

“When he gets rolling like that, he’s just so fun to watch at his craft,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, per MLB.com. “He’s so good at commanding all of his pitches. His curveball was great tonight. But because his changeup and his fastball were good, too, it made that curveball even more special.”

“He was fantastic and he deserves all the credit,” Yankees catcher Kyle Higashioka said, per NJ.com. “He’s had a rough couple starts and he’s been dragging a bit. Just great to see him get back to being himself. I’ve always thought he had a chance to do something like this.”

“He threw strikes, he pounded the zone, obviously. You don’t not throw strikes when you go nine innings and don’t get a baserunner,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said, per ESPN. “Overall, offensively, our approach wasn’t great. We didn’t make any adjustments tonight to what he was doing.”