Moments ago, Mark Buehrle just put the finishing touches on a perfect game, the first by a White Sox pitcher since 
1922, leading Chicago over the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0. It was the perfect game in Major League Baseball since 2004, when Randy Johnson threw one with Arizona, and the first by an American League pitcher since David Cone’s 1999. Buehrle, who threw a no-hitter in 2007, may be one of the most underrated pitchers in the game, a pitcher that works efficiently, and quickly (this game lasted just over two hours). This was a fantastic Rays lineup that he completely shut down, except for one batter in the top of the ninth.
Leading off the ninth, Gabe Kapler crushed a Buehrle offering to deep left-center. Dewayne Wise, who went into center field as a defensive replacement, scaled the wall, moving at full speed into it, to make the catch. The impact with the wall jarred the ball out of his glove, but he caught it with his bare hand. One of the best catches of the season, and maybe the best defensive play in perfect game history. Buehrle then pulled the strings on a change-up to Michel Hernandez and got Jason Bartlett to ground out to short to finish it off.
Wise, Chicago’s fourth outfielder, is hitting .196 with one home run on the season. Just Monday, he was the cause of controversy, as Ozzie Guillen kept Wise on the MLB roster and sent down outfielder Brian Anderson when Carlos Quentin was activated from the disabled list. Anderson was only hitting .238 with two homers himself, but it didn’t stop many from calling Guillen racist for keeping the minority player and sending down the caucasian player.
While Anderson is a decent defensive centerfielder in his own right, Wise has a little more speed. It took all of Wise’s speed to get to that ball, so Guillen’s roster decision may have been the savior for Buehrle. Are those Chicagoians complaning about Guillen now?
If you can, watch SportsCenter or find the highlights online later, because Dewayne Wise’s catch was the real deal.
EDIT: There’s a video on YouTube, found thanks to Mark McGuire over at the Times Union.
