Willie Calhoun is in his freshman season with the New York Yankees, up until this season the seasoned vet has spent the better half of his seven-year career with the Texas Rangers.
Calhoun has always been a sub .250 hitter. He can also be a very streaky player as well who can easily have back-to-back 3-for-3 nights to be followed with back-to-back 0-for performances.
On May 19th, 2020, Texas was facing New York, with Corey Kluber on the mound wearing pinstripes. The then 35-year-old came just a four-pitch third inning walk away from a perfect game.
Losing perfection led Kluber to pitch against the No.1 hitting Calhoun. The faceoff resulted in a ground out. Willie Calhoun was the final out of the wrong side of baseball history and Corey Kluber got in no-hit history.
Fast forward now to June 28th, 2023, a warm Wednesday night in Oakland, California. Yankees’ Domingo German would have Esteury Ruiz, who was the 27th batter he faced, get thrown out at first after grounding out to third.
German pitched the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history. It was the first one since 2012 while marking the first since 1999 when it comes to a Yankees’ pitcher.
On New York’s roster is 10-day injury listed Willie Calhoun. He was now on the perfect side of baseball immortality. Calhoun is also the first player to be part of a losing no-hitter and the winning side of a perfect game.
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