Perfect.....what is it?

The search for perfection is endless - the perfect dress, the perfect home, the perfect partner, the perfect vacation, the perfect everything....as a society we are constantly seeking that elusive trait. In 1976, Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect routine in the Olympics - a feat that was unheard of as her original score reflected as 1.0! It should not have been a surprise as she had been far and away better than the competition in all the events leading up to Montreal. In baseball, the perfect game - 27 up, 27 down; is so elusive that only 24 men in the history of the game have thrown one. As a Yankee fan, I am proud to say that four of those were Yankees, beginning with Don Larson as the only World Series perfect game pitcher. On June 28, 2023, Domingo Germán became the latest to have his name forever logged in baseball lore.

You may think that like Nadia, he had excelled and been at the top of his game. Wrong! In his previous start, Germán yielded 8 runs to the Seattle Mariners. Prior starts to that game resulted in similar dejected walks from the mound as the "0" on his back appeared reflective of his ability as a winning pitcher. In his personal life, Germán's uncle had passed away two days prior to his historical performance in Oakland, and earlier this season he was suspended for ten games as it was determined he had too much rosin on his hand. A couple of years ago, he had been suspended for the better part of the season for violating MLB's policy on domestic abuse. He is far from perfect yet he will be forever enshrined in the Hall of Fame as just that - perfect. David Wells also had a horrible start prior to that game in May 1998 - he was so angry with being pulled from a previous game that he fought with manager Joe Torre while still on the mound. He was known for not being a stranger to the bottle or a good time. He was not the picture of a healthy athlete. David Cone had flirted with both perfection and a no hitter in previous years, but in 1996, surgery on his pitching arm to repair an aneurysm made everyone wonder if he would ever pitch again. He appeared in relief in the 1998 post season and showed everyone he was capable of being on the mound with his performance in July 1999. Despite their past, all these men continued to fight.

Perfection in baseball is indicative of no baserunners - no walks, no hits. Opposing hitters may pop up, ground out or strike out. A pitcher needs to rely on stellar plays from his teammates. Paul O'Neill, right fielder for the Yankees in the 90's, caught the last out of Wells' perfect game. He also made a tremendous catch in the first inning of Cone's historical performance the following year. In reflecting on those games, he has said you think 'don't hit to me' because no one wants to be responsible for breaking up that bid. Nadia needed her coaches to train and support her. It takes teamwork to make this piece of history happen. In all of these games, there were spectacular plays by the fielders in order to keep that perfect game alive. From sliding and diving catches to spot on throws to first base, the pitcher gets the credit but he relies on his team.

So who is on your team? If baseball immortality cannot be accomplished singlehandedly, why do we expect to get through life without help? We need those who are making the stellar plays to save us from ourselves. We need those who can tell us what pitch to throw so we can strikeout the opposition. We also need those on our team to sometimes step aside and let us do our thing when things are going well. We need that manager who is willing to give us the ball despite our past failures. Most importantly, we need our team to throw their hands in the air and jump around like little kids when we succeed. In every one of these situations, the entire team ran to embrace the pitcher; Germán called to the photographer and asked for a team photo. There are plenty of folks in the "cheap seats" who are ready to point out all of our flaws, but your support group are the ones you need to have in your inner circle.

In an attempt to help you create that circle is my new group "You Goal Girl". This private Facebook group will go live on Wednesday, August 2 at 6:30 eastern time and will last about 30 minutes. Request to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/799288358591474/ Join us and take that step to create your team! We will just start with playing for the win. Perfection will need to be defined...and it can happen! To be continued.......