Humber Humbled by Perfection

Chicago White Sox pitcher Philip Humber threw a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field this afternoon.

FOX broke away from the Yankees-Red Sox game to broadcast the final three outs. I thought Brendan Ryan checked his swing on the 3-2 count but the ump called it a strike. The ball, however, rolled to the backstop and Chisox catcher A.J. Pierzynski ran like Rickey Henderson to retrieve the ball and threw it to Paul Konerko to record the final out.

Humber's perfecto is the 21st in MLB history and first since Roy Halladay in May 2010. Well, that should be Armando Galarraga but let's put that aside. Humber entered the game with only 11 big league victories on his resume. The 29-year old Humber was a third round draft pick by the New York Mets in 2004. He was one of four players traded to the Minnesota Twins for Johan Santana following the 2008 season. Humber has bounced around with the Twins, Royals, Athletics before being picked up on waivers last season by the Chisox. He worked his way into the starting rotation finishing 2011 with a 9-9 record.

Humber is the third White Sox pitcher to throw a perfect game. Charlie Robertson threw the first in 1922 in only his fourth big league start and Mark Buehrle did it in 2009. Many of the White Sox players in today's game were on hand for Buehrle's perfecto. Still, I'm certain those players were every bit as excited to be on the field for this game as they were nearly three years ago.

In a post-game interview with Dave Sims and Eric Karros, Humber was humbled by his accomplishment and said hello to his wife who is expecting their first child. While becoming a father will undoubtedly be a bigger thrill, this is a day he will never forget.