Domingo German, the Yankees’ most perfect pitcher

Before the season began, Domingo German was pitched out of the Yankees’ rotation. The Yankees signed Carlos Rodon to a long-term deal, and on paper, he was arguably the best rotation in baseball. Then a series of injuries followed.

Frankie Montas required shoulder surgery. Rodon was wounded in the forearm, then in the back. Luis Severino strained for him. The opportunity opened up for Germain, who was initially competing with Clark Schmidt for the fifth job when Montas was left out during the Yankees’ first day of spring training. The fifth job was not a topic of conversation by the end of the camp due to Rodon and Severino’s injuries. Germain and Schmidt were on rotation out of necessity.

There was a time when it looked like German would never be a Yankees player again. Eternity arriving Wednesday night, becoming the 24th pitcher in MLB history to pitch a perfect game, seemed like an impossibility.

The Yankees beat the A’s 11-0 as German Estori forced a jumper to third baseman Josh Donaldson to end the game. After the final, his teammates attacked him on the field. First Police Officer Anthony Rizzo pumped his fist in the air.

It was an unexpected twist in Germain’s story. He was suspended for 81 games near the end of the 2019 season after becoming physically violent towards his girlfriend at the time while on a team function, the athlete I mentioned at the time. He missed 18 games in 2019, then missed a pandemic-shortened 2020 season before needing to convince the Yankees to bring him back in 2021, to the chagrin of some teammates. Relief player Zach Britton told reporters prior to Germain’s return that season, “Sometimes you can’t control who your teammates are.”

In February, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters he was “really excited” about the growth German has shown, both personally and professionally.

“I feel like there’s a lot of maturation that’s happened with him over the last couple of years, but even from last year through this spring so far, he’s definitely aware of where he is in his career and the opportunities that are ahead of him,” Boone said. I think he understands the importance of that and the seriousness and excitement of that. A very good place for us now. It’s good to see him.”

Germain gave up his No. 55 jersey to Rodon after he was signed that season and he changed it to No. 0, the Yankees’ only remaining single-digit number, to signify a fresh start for himself. He told the “Con Las Bases Llenas” podcast this spring that he battled depression after his 2019 incident because his actions nearly cost him his family and his career. Since 2019, Germain has sought advice to become a better husband and father while rediscovering how to become the 18-game winner he was during that season.

When he returned from suspension in 2021, Germain struggled on the mound. He was sent to the alternate site early that season to work on mechanics. He ended up battling a sore shoulder and finished with a 4.58 ERA. He bounced back last season after missing half the year due to a shoulder impingement but wasn’t reliable enough to be a Yankees option in the postseason.

This season, German has been nothing short of unpredictable and unreliable on the mound – far from becoming the Yankees’ fourth perfect starter, joining Don Larsen, David Wells and David Kuhn.

He was suspended for 10 games after being ejected for having illegal foreign material on his hand during an outing on May 16 against Toronto. He was suspected of using sticky stuff on April 15 when he hit a career-high 11 in a walk against Minnesota. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli was ejected from that game after the umpires allowed Germain to wash his hands instead of sending him off.

And there was a brilliance from Germain in spite of the shadow cast on him by the hanging sticky stuff. There were seven games spanning from early May to mid-June when German was the Yankees’ second-best player behind Gerrit Cole. He went 8 1/3 innings on May 1 against Cleveland, leaving only two hits. He shut out the Dodgers on “Sunday Night Baseball,” giving the Yankees 6 2/3 innings and allowing only one run.

In his previous two games, German had looked like one of the worst pitchers in baseball. He allowed seven runs in two runs against Boston on June 16 and 10 and four home runs in his last outing against Seattle. His ERA swelled from 3.49 to 5.10 after those games. According to Baseball Reference, he is the first player in MLB history to pitch a perfect game after allowing 10 or more of his runs in a previous outing. After giving up 10 runs to the Mariners, Boone continued to display his confidence on first runs.

“Especially in addition to Domingo throwing the ball, you’ll have little hiccups here and there,” Boone said a little over a week ago. “I just think the reflected ball wasn’t sharp, and that’s been a great pitch for him all year. Driving, maybe not quite sharp by his standards. He’s a good hitter and a leader for all three of his pitches. I think that was a little bit. He wasn’t sharp there, and then He wasn’t as well curved as he’s been all year and it kind of gave him some trouble.”

His turnball was the best all season against Oakland. He posted a 38 percent snipe rate on his curveball and had an 80 percent strike rate on 51 curveballs. With two outs in the eighth inning, Germain fell behind Jonah Pride 3-1. He threw a curveball to get a hit called a. Bride missed a curveball, then hit a curveball in the ground for exit #24. In the ninth, he threw six pitches, five of which were curves. Nineteen of the 27 teams Germain has scored have finished on a curve.

Germán’s curveball is by far his best court, and he’s fitting. His career resembles curveball after curveball. It is a curve ball that cements his name in perfection.

(Photo: Stan Szeto/USA Today)