Manny Parra's perfect game

Manny Parra, pitched the third nine-inning perfect game in Pacific Coast League history on June 25, 2007.

The Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas, was the site of Manny Parra's perfect game.

On June 25, 2007, Manny Parra, who was a member of minor league baseball's Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers, pitched a perfect game against the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. He retired all 27 batters, striking out 11. The game took place at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.^[1]

This was the eighth perfect game and third nine-inning perfect game in the history of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), which was established in 1903.^[2] The league's previous perfect game was pitched by Ryan Meaux, Aquilino López, and Cla Meredith of the Portland Beavers against the Sacramento River Cats in the first game of a doubleheader on June 9, 2006.^[2] The PCL's previous nine-inning perfect game was pitched by Nashville's John Wasdin on April 7, 2003, against the Albuquerque Isotopes.^[2]

Background

Parra's early career

Manny Parra was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 26th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.^[3] Shoulder problems resulted in a slower-than-expected rise through the Brewers' minor league system.^[4] Prior to 2007, after five professional seasons, Parra had only played as high as Double-A.^[5] He was selected by the Brewers to participate in the Arizona Fall League the previous autumn.^[5]

2007 season

Parra began the 2007 season with the Double-A Huntsville Stars where he had a win–loss record of 7–3 with a 2.68 earned run average (ERA) before being promoted to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds.^[6] His 2.68 ERA was the best among all Southern League pitchers at the time of his promotion.^[4] He made his first career Triple-A start on June 20—a 3–0 loss in which Parra allowed two runs on seven hits and four walks while striking out six batters in six innings.^[6] Going into the June 25 game, his second start at Triple-A, Parra had a season win–loss record of 7–4 with a 2.70 ERA and a Triple-A record of 0–1 with a 3.00 ERA.^[6]

Game summary

The game started at 7:05 p.m. in front of 8,611 people at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas.^[1] Parra's catcher for the game was Mike Rivera,^[1] who was playing his third season with the Sounds and had played in the major leagues for part of four previous seasons.^[7] The longest at bat of the night was Jason Lane's third at bat in the eighth inning, requiring eight pitches before grounding out to shortstop Ozzie Chavez who tossed the ball to first baseman Brad Nelson for the out.^[8] Express hitters only managed to work the count to three balls during three at bats: Mike Rodriguez in the seventh inning and Jason Lane and Cody Ransom in the eighth, otherwise Parra experienced little difficulty in retiring hitters.^[8] The last batter of the game was pinch hitter Jesse Garcia, who popped out to Brad Nelson at first base.^[9] Parra threw a total of 107 pitches, with 77 counted as strikes.^[9] He struck out 11 batters in the game,^[1] achieving at least one strikeout in every inning except the eighth.^[9] Six ground outs and ten fly outs accounted for Parra's other outs in the game.^[9] The game lasted two hours and thirty-six minutes.^[1]

Parra was supported by three Nashville runs scored during the game. Joe Dillon batted in a run in the first inning, and Mike Rivera added on two runs in the ninth with a two-run double.^[10]

Game statistics

General reference

"Nashville vs. Round Rock - June 25, 2007". Minor League Baseball. June 25, 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2015. 

Line score

Box score

Aftermath

Post-game celebrations

Following the final out, Parra was mobbed by his Sounds teammates in a pile at the pitcher's mound.^[10][11] The crowd, which had cheered him through the last few innings,^[4] gave Parra an extended standing ovation which continued as the feat was recognized over the public address system.^[10][11] Parra kept his cap, the ball from the last out, the scorecard, and the lineup card as souvenirs.^[4] He was also awarded with a certificate and crystal baseball from the Pacific Coast League.^[4] Round Rock Express owner Nolan Ryan also gave him a signed ball.^[4]

Reactions

It's the greatest feeling I've ever had. I was thinking, 'Is this really happening?' It was unbelievable. It's something I never thought I'd do. I've never even seen a no-hitter in person.

—Manny Parra, MiLB.com, June 25, 2007^[10]

He wasn't as sharp in his last outing, but we had a really good feeling early on that the kid was on [his game]. He never really got in any trouble. He pretty much carried us.

—Stan Kyles, pitching coach of the Nashville Sounds, MiLB.com, June 25, 2007^[10]

You just got to tip your hat to him for that performance. The young man did something very rare tonight, and I'm sure he'll remember it for the rest of his life. I congratulate him, but I wish he'd done it against someone else.

—Jackie Moore, manager of the Round Rock Express, Baseball America, June 25, 2007^[11]

Parra's post-game season

In his next start after the perfect game, Parra picked up another win against Round Rock at Nashville's Herschel Greer Stadium.^[6] He pitched six innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks while striking out four batters.^[6] Parra made one more start for Nashville before being promoted to Milwaukee.^[6][3] His final 2007 Triple-A win–loss record was 3–1 with a 1.73 ERA.^[5] His final 2007 minor league record was 10–4 with a 2.45 ERA.^[5]

Parra made his major league debut on July 20.^[3] Coming on in relief, he surrendered no runs over one and one-third innings and struck out three of the four batters he faced.^[12] He appeared in eight more games, including two starts, before breaking his left thumb during a bunt attempt in a game on August 30.^[3][13] Parra ended the season with a 0–1 record and a 3.76 ERA in nine games with the Brewers.^[3]

In recognition of his perfect game, Parra was selected as the PCL's Pitcher of the Week on July 2.^[6] Additionally, he was named MiLB.com's Triple-A Best Single-Game Performer and Minor League Best Single-Game Performer.^[6]

References