Most Significant Sports History on July 23rd

11 years ago today, one White Sox pitcher hurled just the 18th perfect game in big league history. One decade after that, two American League teams faced off for one of the most entertaining games of the entire season. These are some of the unforgettable moments that took place on this date and have heavily shaped the game today.

Buehrle's Perfect Game

YEAR: 2009

SIGNIFICANCE: Mark Buerhle threw the 18th perfect game in MLB history

Even though there are recordings of over 218,000 MLB games since the league’s birth in the late 19th century, there have only been 17 perfect games thrown prior to this date, 11 years ago. Opening the afternoon matchup was SP Mark Buerhle, who spent the first 12 of his 16-season career with the White Sox (161-119, 2000-11).

For roughly two hours, Buerhle retired batter after batter, inning after inning, completely dismantling the Tampa Bay Rays in front of his home crowd on the South Side of Chicago. The 5x All-Star only struck out six in the staggering performance, but he did NOT allow a single hitter to reach first base. With some of the credit given to the 9th-inning defensive substitute OF Dewayne Wise for robbing Gabe Kapler’s HR, Mark Buehrle courageously carried the team to a 5-0 victory by pitching just the 18th perfect game ever.

2019 MLB Best Game

YEAR: 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: The Yankees and Twins exchanged late leads in an epic 10-inning battle totaling 26 runs

The 2019 New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins employed two of the most lethal lineups in the history of the game. To get a perspective of their powerful identities, the latter (307) narrowly edged out the former (306) by a single home-run blast, regarding most Home Runs recorded by a single team in any season ever. On this day last year, the two teams battled it out in one of the best matchups of the year, combing for 26 total runs over the five-hour long game.

SP’s Domingo German and Kyle Gibson took the mound in the first inning, but each gave up eight and five runs respectively before eventually being pulled. By the time the ninth inning rolled around, the Yankees rebounded from an 8-2 deficit to generate a close score of 11-10, with the Twins barely hanging on to their early lead. New York proceeded to plate two runs (Aaron Hicks’ 2-R HR) while Minnesota answered with one run of their own to push the game into extra innings. After failing to come back from New York’s two-run 10th inning, the Twins fell admirably, losing the extremely emotional matchup on the last play of the game when Hicks’ diving catch with bases loaded saved the day.

1st to 100 HRs

July 23, 1890, Harry Stovey becomes the first player to hit 100 career home runs.
— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) November 20, 2016

YEAR: 1890

SIGNIFICANCE: Harry Stovey became the 1st player to collect 100 career HRs

Before Babe Ruth came along in the 1920s, ballplayers were not known to swat 30+ home runs per season. In 1901, MLB clubs collectively crushed 455 HRs (eight clubs, about 56 each). 118 years later, the league combined for 6,776 HRs (30 clubs, about 225 each).

Further highlighting this generational contrast was 1B/OF Harry Stovey, who was widely recognized as one of the game’s best sluggers. He may have averaged only 13 dingers per campaign, but he did become the first slugger to reach the 100 HR milestone, exactly 13 decades ago today. It may have been a different era, but he was one of a few ‘power hitters’ who played the game back then.

Yankees Acquire Ichiro

YEAR: 2012

SIGNIFICANCE: The Yankees traded just 2 RPs for an international baseball icon

One of the greatest hitters in MLB history didn’t make his big league debut until he was 27. Ichiro Suzuki played in the Japan Pacific League for nine seasons (3x MVP) torching teams with his devastating combo of consistent hitting (.353/.421/.522 triple slash) and undeniable speed (199 SBs). The Seattle Mariners signed the foreign star OF prior to the 2001 season and kept him on the roster until he was traded just before the 2012 trade deadline.

Exactly eight years ago today, the Yankees acquired Suzuki in exchange for RPs Danny Farquhar and DJ Mitchell. The international icon continued his awe-inspiring career with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and company in New York for three campaigns. The RF is a lock for the Hall of Fame as a ROY, 1x MVP (rookie season), 10x All-Star, 10x Gold Glove winner, and member of the 3,000 Hits club.

Nike Inks Zion Williamson

YEAR: 2019

SIGNIFICANCE: Zion Williamson signed the richest rookie sponsorship deal in NBA history

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Nike’s Jordan Brand signing the 2019 first overall pick to a record-breaking sponsorship deal. PF Zion Williamson feasted on ACC opponents, dropping 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game on 68% shooting during his first and only year at Duke University. While he was especially productive on paper, it was rather easy to notice his transcendent skillset on the floor, which integrated top-class power, speed, and athleticism. Before averaging 23-7-2 in his first campaign with the Pelicans, Zion and the Jordan Brand agreed to a 7y/$75M contract, the richest sponsorship deal ever for an NBA rookie, showing the box office potential that Zion has at such a young age.