Yankee pitcher Domingo German threw a perfect game the other night. Unfortunately for Yankees fans, it was on the West Coast, against the A’s, so it was late. In fact, I’m the only Yankees fan in my immediate circle I’m aware of who actually saw it. I long ago resolved that if there’s a trade-off between getting sleep and witnessing an amazing sports moment, sleep always has to give way, and a potentially perfect game is a no-brainer. As I was watching, I was thinking maybe the number of perfect games in baseball history had hit the high 20s. In fact, German’s was the 24th.

I’ve never been as despondent about a 3–1 count as I was when he had one in the eighth. When the ninth rolled around, I began trying to text friends to ask if they were watching, but my texts weren’t working for some reason — I decided it might be best on superstitious grounds. (Although, rationally, the reason almost all no-hitters and perfect games are broken up after you tell someone is that almost all no-hitters and perfect games are broken up regardless.)

The ninth went easily, and there it was — gleaming perfection from a pitcher who had given up 17 runs in his last two games over 5.1 innings! You never know, and sometimes what you don’t know turns out to be a sports moment you’ll never forget.