Former
@whitesox pitcher Mark Buehrle didn’t care about jinxing his perfect game back in 2009: “The two things that come up most often these days when I run into fans are that perfect game I threw eight years ago and the 2005 World Series.
The one thing that not a ton of people know about that perfect game against the Rays in 2009 involves how everything went down off the field — in the dugout and back in the clubhouse.
What I remember most is not being able to keep my mouth shut between innings during that one. I talked guys’ ears off. I basically did the opposite of everything you always hear about when no-hitters and perfect games are discussed.
By the fifth, I was going up to anyone who would listen and just putting it out there.
‘Are you kidding me, right now? What’s happening out there? How do I have a perfect game going?’
I was just having fun and enjoying the moment. But no one knew what to make of it.
Between the eighth and ninth, I randomly decided to head up into the clubhouse and see what was going on back there.
The first guy I saw was
@ajpierzynski12.
I could tell he wasn’t looking to talk to me. But I don’t believe in jinxes, so I was having none of it. I sat right down next to him.
Are you kidding me, dude? There’s no way I have a perfect game right now. Is this for real?’
He just shook his head and laughed.
I kept going.
‘Three outs from a perfect game? This is insane? Only three more outs?’
A.J. could tell I wasn’t going to stop until he said something to me.
‘Quit talking about it, man,’ he finally said. ‘Just go out there and finish it up.’
So, you know, that’s what I did.
And then, less than an hour later, I was talking on the phone with Obama.
The president joked around with me some, and I remember laughing a bit and just grinning from ear to ear. But I didn’t really talk much. Basically I was just telling myself: Don’t say anything stupid, Mark. Please, dude, don’t be dumb. Don’t mess this up.”
playerstribu.ne/Buehrle