Calling a historic moment in sports isn’t easy. You have to paint the picture perfectly, the timing has to be right and every little detail matters. Those are just a few elements that can make or break a call.
On June 28, 2023, New York Yankees starter Domingo Germán threw a perfect game against the Oakland Athletics in a 11-0 win. Ryan Ruocco was on play-by-play for YES Network with Jeff Nelson and detailed the call that left him shaking. It was a more personal feat for him.
“To me, growing up a die-hard Yankee fan, getting to call a moment like that — in history like that — it was as incredible a moment as I’ve ever experienced and will ever experience in this business,” Ruocco said on Awful Announcing’s Short and to the Point podcast.
Germán threw the 24th perfect game in MLB history in front of Dallas Braden, who threw a perfect game of his own in 2010. He was on the NBC Sports California broadcast on the call.
Ruocco said he was nervous, but the nerves weren’t about him. They were more selfless.
“You’re a part of Yankee lore, and in the moment,” he said. “For me, I wasn’t even nervous about — how am I going to call it, I was nervous about him getting it. Knowing like — you’re so close to this.”
After the game, he was still reeling from it, and it lasted a while.
“But it was an incredible experience,” Ruocco said. “Like I always say in this business, you get a high from certain broadcasts, right? You know that feeling of right afterwards where you’re buzzing and you need to maybe grab a drink at the bar with your teammates and break it all down or whatever. The high from that game lasted for me for a whole week. Buzzing for a full week.”
It sounds like that hasn’t gone away.
“I still can’t believe I got to call a Yankee perfect game,” Ruocco said.
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About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.