It was three years ago today. After I woke up in the morning, by dad surprised me with Sox tickets for the day’s afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Rays. It was a spur of the moment occasion, and little did my family and I know that we were about to witness history.

I’m sure pretty much all White Sox fans, no matter if they attended the game or not, have similar stories they are looking back on today, as it’s the anniversary of Mark Buehrle’s perfect game.
Obviously, there were many memorable moments during the Thursday afternoon game, and with today being its anniversary, GSB! goes back and takes a look.

DeWayne Wise’s “Perfect Catch”

Over Billy Pierce’s head on the left-center field wall, the words “the catch” can be seen. The White Sox decided to do this with good measure, as Wise’s catch is arguably the greatest and most memorable catch in the history of the franchise.
Going into the top of the ninth, Wise, who recently returned from the disabled list after injuring his shoulder on a diving catch in Detroit, entered the game as a defensive replacement for Carlos Quentin (Scott Podsednik started in center field and moved to left when Wise entered). Kapler hit the ball hard in the left-center gap, certainly ticketed for the seats. Wise, on a dead sprint track the ball down, leaped up, and kept it in the park.

However, the ball started juggling and falling out of the glove. With great concentration, Wise was able to catch the ball with his left hand as he was falling down.
Baseball fans always say that there’s one signature defensive play that happens in every perfect game, almost like some or of certificate of authenticity. Wise’s catch was definitely that and then some. Other than maybe Juan Uribe’s dive into the stands in the ninth inning of game four of the ’05 World Series, I can’t think of a better catch in the franchise’s history.

Buehrle himself

The sub title here is obvious, but it goes beyond that. Really, only two balls were hit hard all game off of Buehrle: Kapler’s drive to the wall in the ninth and Pat Burrell lining out to Gordon Beckham at third base in the eighth. With the kind of stuff Buehrle has and the fact that he’s not a strikeout pitcher, the odds for him throwing a perfect game are so much lower because his margin for error with his location is so difficult. So, when Buehrle not only throws a perfect game, but gets 25 of the 27 batter to not square him up, that’s true dominance that 99 percent of pitchers only dream of having.

Josh Fields and Ramon Castro

Who would have thought that these two guys would have some sort of place in the memories of White Sox fans? When you look back on their careers in a Sox uniform, there isn’t much to be excited about. However, both of these guys played large parts in this victory.
Josh Fields was having a rough season and recently lost his starting job third base to the red-hot Beckham. However, he got the spot start at first base on this day, with Jim Thome getting the day off at DH against the Rays lefty Scott Kazmir. He responded by hitting a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the second inning, giving the Sox control of the game and putting less pressure on Buehrle.

Up before him was Ramon Castro, who was struggling just as much. He extended that inning with a base hit, allowing the inning to get to Fields (I still recall my father proclaiming that the inning was over because Castro and Fields were coming up to bat). However, Castro’s real big contribution in this game was obviously behind the plate, as in any perfect game, it takes the catcher doing a terrific job calling the pitches.
So not only did Mark Buehrle give himself something he will remember for the rest of his life, but he also gave DeWayne Wise, Ramon Castro, Josh Fields, the rest of the team and of course, us fans a day we will never forget. Thanks Mark; It’s still so clear in our minds that it feels like it happened just yesterday.

————————

Posted by Luke Stanczyk, Editor of GSB!