Domingo Germán

Domingo Germán threw the fourth perfect game in New York Yankees history, and it's still the strangest one of the four -- not because of anything he did on the mound, but because of everything that happened around it. He's a Dominican right-hander who debuted in 2017, broke out in 2019, got suspended half a season for domestic violence, came back and rebuilt himself, then authored 27 up-27 down against the Athletics in 2023 while carrying his late uncle with him the whole game. Baseball doesn't usually hand you a story this complicated. Germán's is exactly that complicated, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest.

Getting to the Rotation

The Yankees signed Germán as an international free agent out of the Marlins system, and he debuted June 11, 2017, mostly working out of the bullpen (0-1, 3.14 ERA in 14.1 innings across four separate call-ups -- the kind of shuttle-service rookie year that barely registers). 2018 was an up-and-down look at whether he belonged in the rotation at all -- flashes of real stuff (a career-high 11 strikeouts against Minnesota in April, 10 more against Tampa Bay that June) mixed with the inconsistency you'd expect from a 25-year-old still figuring out a big-league workload.

Then 2019 happened, and it happened fast. Germán made the Opening Day roster, led all of baseball with 5 wins and a 2.56 ERA in April (the Yankees actually named him their in-house "Hurler of the Month," which sounds like a made-up award until you realize it's exactly what he was), and finished the year 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 153 strikeouts over 143 innings -- tied for the fourth-most wins in the entire majors. Eighteen wins. From a guy who'd been an up-and-down rookie the year before. That's not incremental improvement. That's a freakin' breakout.

The Suspension

It also didn't last the season. In September 2019, MLB placed Germán on administrative leave amid a domestic violence investigation involving the mother of his children, and on January 2, 2020, the league suspended him 81 games under its joint domestic violence policy. He didn't appeal. The discipline broke down as nine games already served, nine of the Yankees' 2019 postseason games, and 63 games of the 2020 season -- which, thanks to the pandemic, ended up costing him the entire shortened campaign anyway. He agreed to counseling and a donation to Sanctuary for Families, a New York nonprofit supporting survivors, and returned to the club in February 2021 with a public apology to his teammates. That's part of his record. Any write-up that skips it isn't telling the truth.

Hurt, Then Hurt Again

The comeback wasn't smooth. Shoulder inflammation limited Germán to basically nothing after August 1 in 2021 (4.58 ERA, one appearance after that date -- a lost year, functionally). 2022 opened with him on the 60-day IL with shoulder impingement syndrome, and he didn't pitch again until after the All-Star break. When he did return, though, something clicked: 2-5 record, sure, but a 3.61 ERA that was a career-low at the time. The stuff was finally healthy.

The Perfect Game, In the Middle of a Mess

2023 was the wildest year of his career, and that's saying something. Umpires checked him for sticky stuff in April against Minnesota and let it slide, then ejected him for it in May in Toronto -- "the stickiest hands I've ever felt," the home plate umpire said -- and MLB suspended him 10 games. Six days before his next big moment, Seattle rocked him for 10 runs in 3.1 innings, dropping him to 4-5 with a 5.10 ERA. Nobody watching that game had any reason to expect what came next.

On June 28, 2023, at the Oakland Coliseum, Germán retired all 27 Athletics he faced. Nine strikeouts, 99 pitches, and a Yankees win by a final of 11-0. It was the 24th perfect game in MLB history and the fourth in Yankees history, joining Don Larsen, David Wells, and David Cone -- more perfect games than any other franchise in the sport. He was the first pitcher born in the Dominican Republic to ever throw one. His uncle had died two days before the game, and Germán said afterward he'd carried him through all nine innings.

Five weeks later, he voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse and finished the year on MLB's restricted list, his season over at 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA. The Yankees moved on from him that winter. He signed a minor-league deal with the Pirates in 2024 and bounced through their system and roster without ever finding a real foothold again.

Where It Stands

Germán's Yankees tenure doesn't fit into a tidy box, and I'm not going to force it into one. He's the answer to trivia questions (first Dominican-born pitcher with a perfect game, the only guy to throw one immediately after a 10-run beatdown) and he's also a guy who served a suspension for real harm and went through real treatment for a real problem. Both things happened. Both things are part of the record. What lasts from June 28, 2023, is the box score -- 27 up, 27 down, in a half-empty ballpark on the wrong coast, thrown by a pitcher who six days earlier looked like he had no business on a big-league mound at all.

Frequently Asked Questions

What years did Domingo Germán play for the Yankees?

Germán pitched for the Yankees from 2017 through 2019 and again from 2021 through 2023, missing the tail end of 2019 and all of the 2020 season while serving an 81-game suspension.

Did Domingo Germán throw a perfect game?

Yes. On June 28, 2023, Germán retired all 27 Athletics he faced in an 11-0 Yankees win at the Oakland Coliseum -- the 24th perfect game in MLB history and the fourth thrown by a Yankee, joining Don Larsen, David Wells, and David Cone.

Why was Domingo Germán suspended in 2020?

MLB suspended Germán 81 games under its joint domestic violence policy after a September 2019 incident involving the mother of his children. He didn't appeal the discipline and returned to the club in February 2021 with a public apology to his teammates.

What was Domingo Germán's best season with the Yankees?

2019, by a wide margin. He went 18-4 with a 4.03 ERA and 153 strikeouts, tied for the fourth-most wins in the majors, after leading all of baseball with 5 wins in April.

What happened to Domingo Germán after his perfect game?

About five weeks later, on August 2, 2023, Germán voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, and MLB placed him on the restricted list, ending his season. The Yankees moved on from him that winter, and he signed a minor-league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024.

Twenty-seven up, twenty-seven down, on a night nobody -- least of all Germán himself -- saw coming.