Domingo German made history on June 28. He fired the 24th perfect game in MLB history, shutting down the hapless Oakland A’s with ease. German threw just 99 pitches on the night, striking out nine, as he became the fourth New York Yankees pitcher to throw the ultimate gem.
There is also another subplot to those previous perfect games. The Yankees won the World Series in each year they had a perfect game (1956, 1998, and 1999). As the saying goes, history repeats itself. This means that the Yankees may finally snap their championship drought.
Domingo German a precursor to New York Yankees title?
It certainly helped that the Yankees’ first perfect game occurred during the World Series. Don Larsen took command of Game Five of the 1956 World Series, carving his name in baseball immortality. The other two perfect games, by David Wells in 1998 and David Cone in 1999, occurred during the Yankees’ last dynasty.
A lot of work needs to be done for the Yankees to make it 4-4 with perfect games. They are barely hanging on to a playoff berth currently and the lineup has struggled without Aaron Judge. Several other teams are nipping at their heels for that spot in the postseason. Nothing is guaranteed.
But all a team needs to do is make it in. The Phillies proved that last year as they slipped into the postseason as the sixth seed in the National League only to reach the World Series. If the Yankees can find their way to the playoffs, history says they may finally get that 28th title. History says that will be the case after German’s impressive outing.
The New York Yankees have won the World Series every year they have had a perfect game. Maybe history repeats itself in 2023.
Leave a Reply