Perfect

It was the last word muttered by Samurai Katsumoto as he convinced the American Samurai, Nathan Algren to help him kill himself. (Clip. Start from 6:25) But lately, perfect is the game Mark Buehrle threw against the Rays yesterday.

He struck out just six batters over nine innings, and obviously had 27 go up, and 27 down. Of course, you can't mention Beuhrle's gem without showing the catch by Dewayne Wise, CF. It's just probably one of the best catches you'll ever see, under the circumstances. I'm sorry, I know you've heard that line a million times already, but it's the truest fact right now.

What is actually amazing is the Dewayne Wise did not start the game. Scott Podsenick started in CF, and not to say that he wouldn't have made the catch either, but Wise was put in for the ninth inning only. First batter, Gabe Kapler gives one a ride, but oviously, we all know what happened. Ozzie Guillen, maybe you got lucky, but you look like a genius anyway.

This isn't the first time Buehrle surrended zero hits in a game. He pitched a no hitter back in 2007. I was thinking about it, and trying to imagine the pressure of really knowing you are so close. I mean, every single pitch is such a risk. Broken bat single, a hanger, anything could ruin it. As a Yankee fan, it pains me to to talk about Mike Mussina's gem. He had a perfect game into the ninth, two outs on the batter with two strikes. Of course, Carl Everett hit a single to break the perfect game and the no-no.

Sadly, as I do some research, I see a whole list of pitchers who lost the perfect game on the 27th batter:

On nine occasions in Major League Baseball history, a perfect game has been spoiled when the batter representing what would have been the third and final out in the ninth inning reached base. Unless otherwise noted, the pitcher in question finished and won the game without allowing any more baserunners:^[38]

• On July 4, 1908, Hooks Wiltse of the New York Giants hit Philadelphia Phillies pitcher George McQuillan on a 2-2 count in a scoreless game—the only time a 0–0 perfect game has been broken up by the 27th batter. Umpire Cy Rigler later admitted that he should have called the previous pitch strike 3. Wiltse pitched on, winning 1-0; his ten-inning no-hitter set a record for longest complete game no-hitter that has been tied twice but never broken.^[39]
• On August 5, 1932, Tommy Bridges of the Detroit Tigers gave up a pinch-hit single to the Washington Senators' Dave Harris.^[40]
• On June 27, 1958, Billy Pierce of the Chicago White Sox gave up a double, which landed just inches in fair territory, on his first pitch to Senators pinch hitter Ed Fitz Gerald.^[41]
• On September 2, 1972, Milt Pappas of the Chicago Cubs walked San Diego Padres pinch hitter Larry Stahl on a borderline 3-2 pitch. Pappas finished with a no-hitter. The umpire, Bruce Froemming, was in his second year; he went on to a 37-year career in which he umpired a record 11 no-hitters. Pappas believed he had struck out Stahl, and years later continued to bear ill will toward Froemming.^[42]
• On April 15, 1983, Milt Wilcox of the Tigers surrendered a pinch-hit single to the White Sox' Jerry Hairston, Sr.^[43]
• On May 2, 1988, Ron Robinson of the Cincinnati Reds gave up a single to the Montreal Expos' Wallace Johnson. Robinson then allowed a two-run homer to Tim Raines and was removed from the game. The final score was 3-2, with Robinson the winner.^[44] (Robinson's teammate Tom Browning threw his perfect game later that season.)
• On August 4, 1989, Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays gave up a double to the New York Yankees' Roberto Kelly, followed by an RBI single by Steve Sax. Stieb finished with a 2-1 victory.^[45]
• On April 20, 1990, Brian Holman of the Seattle Mariners gave up a home run to Ken Phelps of the Oakland Athletics.^[46]
• On September 2, 2001, Mike Mussina of the Yankees gave up a two-strike single to Boston Red Sox pinch hitter Carl Everett.^[47]

Terrible, just terrible. Hey, it happens. Better luck next time.