Athletics pitcher Braden throws perfect game

Oakland Athletics pitcher Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game on Sunday afternoon at the Coliseum against the Tampa Bay Rays (22-9). The Athletics (17-15) won the game by a score of 4-0. It was the 19th perfect game in the history of baseball. When you think of how long baseball has been around -- for well over a century -- and how many games are played (now over 2,400 each year) it shows how rare an achievement that is. It's the first perfect game since Mark Buehrle of the White Sox did it last season, ironically also against the Rays.

I was fortunate enough to be able to catch the end of the game on television and I'm just glad I got to see the ninth inning. I was nervous just watching, I can only imagine how Braden (4-2, 3.33 ERA) must have felt. It's just a really, really cool thing. I really enjoyed seeing Braden getting mobbed by his teammates in a big celebration following the game, as pictured above. In a perfect game, it's not just not allowing a hit, but there have to be no walks and no errors, so the defense has to play everything perfectly as well. Braden said as much after the game, "It's without a doubt a team effort. You got eight guys chasing balls and knocking balls down for me. So this is ours, not just mine, this is ours."

It's also significant that Braden tossed his perfect game on Mother's Day. His mom passed away due to skin cancer while he was in high school, and Braden pointed to the sky after the game which appeared to be in acknowledgment of his late mom. Braden's grandma, with whom he has a great relationship, was at the game and the two exchanged a long emotional embrace after the game. Speaking of Mother's Day Braden said, "It hasn't been a joyous day for me in a while. With my grandma in the stands it makes it a lot better." In a post game interview on television Braden said that his grandma deserved something like this. It also kind of made me chuckle when I could hear Braden say to his grandma after they embraced something like "Let's eat." It was just really cool stuff all around.

Braden has been in the news recently for getting into it with New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez after the latter walked across the pitcher's mound in a game Braden started earlier this season. The two exchanged words and then have since been involved in a battle via the media, with Braden essentially saying that A-Rod is incredibly self-centered and conceited (something with which I don't disagree at all) and Rodriguez firing back basically saying Braden is a nobody (he is only 26 and has won 18 games in his career now). This last week A-Rod said he wasn't going to comment on the situation anymore because he didn't want to extend Braden's 15 minutes of fame. After the game Braden's grandma said "Stick it, A-Rod." I thought that was pretty funny and I think Braden showed he is the real deal today and should have a successful career. Rodriguez may just have to get used to that.