Home-plate umpire in Royals’ 3-2 win over the Twins had a rare perfect game
The 14,730 fans at Kauffman Stadium on Thursday didn’t realize it, but they saw a perfect game.
No, neither the Royals’ Michael Wacha nor the Twins’ Bailey Ober threw a perfect game, which is evident by the final score. The Royals won 3-2, but the perfect game was from home-plate umpire Mark Ripperger.
Here’s a quick explainer: When a pitcher throws a perfect game, it means he retired all 27 batters with none reaching base.
But an umpire’s perfect game is when he gets every single ball and strike call correct.
The social-media site Umpire Scorecards shared Ripperger’s perfecto on Friday morning and noted that all 136 pitches he called were correct.
No one cheers for an umpire, but Ripperger deserves praise for his work at The K on Thursday afternoon.
It is believed to be just the second perfect game for an umpire since this type of analysis began. The other was Pat Hoberg at the 2022 World Series.
