Phil Humber throws Perfect Game!

[Funketown]

Caught the last inning. Congratulations to Phil Humber for earning his place in history!

[jjkoestler]

Seattle showed a lot of class with the ovation and cheers they gave him.

 

Bush league move by the M's pinch hitting with the last batter down 4 runs.

[jerichoholicninja]

Bush league move by the M's pinch hitting with the last batter down 4 runs.

 

How is that Bush league? Were they suppose to just quit and give him the perfect game?

[TooLiveBrew]

Plus, they pinch-hit with Brendan Ryan. You could argue they were trying to help Humber out.

[young guns]

They also pinch hit for the 8 hitter.

[Schlitz001]

Way to go Humber! I look forward to seeing the out by out breakdown on the highlights. They just showed the last out on the Brewers broadcast and I'm not sure Ryan went all the way around on the check swing call, but I guess you get a little bit of help from the umpire when you're 1 pitch away from the perfect game.

[TooLiveBrew]

Further on that thought, what would've happened if the HP ump had asked for help on the check-swing call (since the ball got away from Pierzynski)? Would the HP ump ask the 1B ump for help on that call after the throw down to 1B?

[Glennron]

I've always felt that the dropped third strike rule is one of the dumbest and most pointless rules in baseball. I'd have been pretty mad if Ryan reached base on that strikeout.

 

Is that considered an error then? I'm assuming it counted as a wild pitch but I'm not sure how else they score those.

[bullox]

but I guess you get a little bit of help from the umpire when you're 1 pitch away from the perfect game.

 

Armando Galarraga sure wishes this was the case.

[Ennder]

Plus, they pinch-hit with Brendan Ryan. You could argue they were trying to help Humber out.

 

Plus he didn't run after he struck out even though he would have easily been safe if he had and that wasn't anywhere near a strike. To be fair the White Sox have to lead all of baseball in mediocre at best pitchers with no hitters at this point.

[TheCrew07]

Plus, they pinch-hit with Brendan Ryan. You could argue they were trying to help Humber out.

 

Plus he didn't run after he struck out even though he would have easily been safe if he had and that wasn't anywhere near a strike. To be fair the White Sox have to lead all of baseball in mediocre at best pitchers with no hitters at this point.

 

That's only true in the same way that Parra is a mediocre at best pitcher. Talent wise Humber was the 3rd overall player taken in the 2004 draft, the first draft I really followed on bf.net. He was probably a reach given his stuff, he wasn't a mid 90s guy, I remember reading scouting reports on BA that he worked consistently in the low 90s with a developing curve that had reached plus status and an improving 3rd pitch, which I want to say was a change. I know he junked a pitch in college and started throwing something different, I just forget which way it went. The point is that is his 2nd and 3rd pitches were a work in progress.

 

At any rate he always had the raw tools be an above average MLB starter, just like JDLR did, so it's no surprise to me when one of these guys that always had talent starts to play to their ability... doesn't matter if it's JDLR, Humber, Morrow, Romero, or someone like Chris Tillman would break out. They aren't mediocre at best, the overall results in their careers may have been, but it's not like a pitcher with a below average FB like Marcum pitched a perfect game. Humber's career has definitely been underwhelming and he was pigeon holed as a bust for many years, but he pitched very well last season. It's not like this recent success came out of the blue.

 

It's disappointing to me that instead of celebrating the achievement I keep seeing articles and discussion about the "randomness" of baseball because 2 pitchers who aren't very highly thought of have pitched perfect games recently. A perfect game will always require a perfect storm of pitching, defense, and circumstance... that's never going to change, they've always appeared to be "random". However, I don't really think Humber is getting his due either, he's not Dallas Braden who couldn't even crack his own organization's top 10 lists as a prospect. Furthermore, 3 of the 18 pitchers who've pitched perfect games since 1918 have a career ERA+ of less than 100, it's hardly unprecedented.

[Ennder]

To be fair Humber pitched a really good game, it wasn't like the one no hitter by Buehrle where he didn't even pitch very well there were just a ton of hard hit balls right at guys and it wasn't like Liriano's no hitter last year. I even owned Humber in a fantasy league and got the benefit, heh.

[MadScientist]

Just a thought, had the last guy reached on the strikeout, that would have gone down in history as the absolute worst way to break up a perfect game.

[Baldkin]

You mean, had he ran to first, instead of arguing with the ump? Yeah, I agree....

[Bikeage77]

here's a link in case anyone was looking for it:

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/news/humber_perfectgame/index.jsp

[TURBO]

He is a hot commodity on the fantasy waiver wires... Too bad he will be waived just as fast when he comes back down to earth...