OAKLAND, Calif. – Some 13-plus hours after etching his name into baseball history, Domingo German strolled into the visiting clubhouse at Oakland Coliseum on Thursday morning.
The Yankees right-hander did not have much rest, but he did have at least a partial understanding of how his life had changed overnight after becoming the 24th pitcher to throw a perfect game in MLB history.
“I’m still in a state where it’s kind of unbelievable to me,” German said through an interpreter.
The Yankees had a quick turnaround on Thursday, with a 12:37 p.m. local start to finish their three-game set against the Athletics before flying to St. Louis for a weekend series.
But German spent the late hours of Wednesday night into Thursday morning soaking up his 99-pitch gem by calling those closest to him after he got back to the team hotel in San Francisco.
“I spent most of the night calling family members, my wife, my dad through FaceTime,” German said. “A lot of tears here and there. When you think about it, you really understand the accomplishment of pitching a game like that. It’s incredible.”
It had been a difficult week for German, whose uncle Saint Jacques Gean Louis died a few days before Wednesday’s start.
But he cherished getting to talk with his wife, sharing the details of his historic accomplishment and “reminiscing [about] the game itself.”
“But yeah, not a lot [of sleep],” a talkative yet tired German said with a grin at his locker.
Yankees clubhouse manager Lou Cucuzza Jr. had collected an assortment of mementos after Wednesday’s game for German to keep, including his cleats, uniform, hat, glove and belt.
The belt was especially meaningful since it had the name of his youngest son written on the inside of it.
German also secured the ball from the final out, which he will add to his collection back home.
While the weight of the accomplishment was still setting in for German, he said he did have some perspective on what it would mean for him in the future.
At the Yankees’ annual Homecoming Dinner earlier this year, David Wells was honored 25 years after throwing the franchise’s first regular-season perfect game.
German thought of that talk in the aftermath of his own run-in with history.
“He was talking about the perfect game and how much it meant to him and how much he felt like he did it yesterday,” German said. “That made me realize, ‘Wow, what an impactful achievement.’ For me, it was always a dream to pitch a perfect game. When you’re coming up as a pitcher, it’s something you dream about, perfection. Being able to do that last night, it’s a great accomplishment. I’m still active, I’m not retired, we’re still competing, but that sensation is very unique in itself.”