Watch: It's The 6-Year Anniversary Of Mark Buerhle's Perfect Game
(CBS) The day started out with a routine ground ball to second base off the bat of Rays center fielder B.J. Upton. It ended with White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle getting mobbed just off the mound by his teammates.
Six years ago today -- on July 23, 2009 -- Buehrle threw the 17th perfect game in MLB history and second in White Sox franchise history, navigating a 5-0 win against the Rays without a blemish at U.S. Cellular Field. Buehrle fired 116 pitches that day, 76 of them strikes. In recording the 27 outs, he induced 11 groundouts, 10 flyouts and struck out six.
The most famous of the outs, of course, was center fielder DeWayne Wise's leaping, juggling rob of a would-be homer off the bat of Gabe Kapler to lead off the ninth inning. As he nabbed the ball in the web of his glove, Wise hit the fence, and the crown jewel popped out. As he fell and the ball descended, he made a remarkable grab with his left hand to save the perfect game, which would be completed two batters later when Jason Bartlett grounded out to shortstop.
"It was kind of crazy, man, because when I jumped, the ball hit my glove at the same time I was hitting the wall," Wise said that day. "So I didn't realize I had caught it until I fell down and the ball was coming out of my glove, so I reached out and grabbed it."
He also added the understatement of the day.
"It was probably the best catch I've ever made because of the circumstances," Wise said.
Watch Wise's catch below and all 27 outs that Buehrle recorded above.
In 2012, Phillip Humber threw a perfect game for the White Sox, the third in franchise history. There's been 23 in MLB history.
