You Can’t Stop Him, You Can Only Hope For A Bloop Single Or A Walk Off Of Him
The Daily News notes that a Queens high school baseball player has made baseball history by throwing two perfect games in a row, and is working on his third straight perfect game today:
Posted: May 1st, 2006 | Filed under: Huzzah!, Queens, SportsA 17-year-old Bayside High School junior has rewritten baseball history, throwing back-to-back perfect games — a feat that has never been matched in the majors, minors or even at the high school level.
“It was a dream,” Anthony Velazquez said on a recent morning outside his 8 a.m. physical education class in Queens. “I never expected to throw one and now I’ve thrown two.”
The first perfect game was on April 11, when he shut down John Bowne High School, 2-0, striking out 11 in seven innings.
. . .
Bayside didn’t play again until two weeks later but Anthony showed no rust.
He whiffed 16 Flushing High batters en route to a 10-0 rout. He also went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot with two stolen bases. The game was called after six innings because of the mercy rule.
“My whole body went numb,” Anthony said of Tuesday’s win. “Then everybody from my team jumped on me.”
Everyone knew he had been part of something special — but few knew just how special.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, no high school pitcher has ever thrown consecutive perfect games — allowing no hits, walks or errors. Only two have managed to throw two perfect games in their entire high school careers.