Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán achieved baseball immortality on Wednesday night — but his way there has been far from perfect.

The right-hander threw the 24th perfect game in MLB history and became the fourth Yankee to do so in an 11-0 win against the Oakland Athletics. 

Through nine innings and 99 pitches, Germán allowed zero hits, zero walks and struck out nine.

The historic performance stands atop Germán’s heaps of past struggle and controversy.

Let’s take a look at how the Dominican Republic native, through ups and downs, arrived at the perfect game. 

Germán, 30, landed in New York during the 2014 offseason as part of the blockbuster five-player trade between the Yankees and the Marlins where headliner Nathan Eovaldi was shipped to the Bronx in exchange for Martin Prado. 

He didn’t make it to the mound for the entire 2015 season, though, sidelined after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

Germán was non-tendered following his inactive season and re-signed with the Yankees in December to a minor-league deal.

Reflecting on his recovery process, Germán said he considered giving up on the sport completely.

“There were so many things that went through my head — some of them was even quitting baseball. Being afraid that I was never gonna get back to being the pitcher I was before,” German said.

Fast forward to 2019 and Germán is finding his footing in the majors, securing a starting spot in the Yankees rotation.

He had 18 wins — the second-most in baseball — and was expected to be a key part of the Yankees’ postseason plans.

Germán then got in his own way. 

In September 2019, it was revealed Germán would miss the rest of the season due to domestic violence allegations involving his then-fiance, Mara Vega. 

Germán reportedly slapped Vega at a charity event and was subsequently suspended 81 games by MLB in January 2020. 

When Germán returned to the Yankees’ locker room in February 2021, some teammates, namely veteran Zack Britton, were not too happy with his comeback.

At the time, Britton said Germán and his actions didn’t have “any place in the game or off the field or at all.” 

Germán proceeded to have pretty quiet seasons, battling for a rotation spot and never making a big impact in the Yankees’ roster. 

In his 2023 campaign, things were only getting worse.

Germán was ejected from a May matchup against the Blue Jays and hit with a 10-game suspension for having sticky stuff on his hands.

In his two most recent starts, Germán let up seven runs against the Boston Red Sox and then got booed off the mound for allowing 10 runs (eight earned), against the Mariners in 3 ⅓ innings on June 22. 

Wednesday’s perfect game, albeit against a sinking Oakland squad, could be the spark Germán needed to revitalize his career and give the Yankees — currently in third place in the AL East — a needed bolt of energy. 

Germán joins Don Larsen, David Wells and David Cone on the list of Yankees with perfect games. The franchise now boasts the most perfect games among MLB teams. 

The pitcher dedicated his historic performance to his late uncle who passed away this week.