Reliever's Perfect Game: Shuey's Unexpected Baseball Miracle

On September 14, 1994, a truly remarkable event took place in the world of baseball. The MLB season was approaching its final weeks, and the playoff race was heating up. However, on this particular day, something extraordinary happened that would be remembered for generations to come.

The Cleveland Indians were hosting the California Angels at Jacobs Field. The Indians' starting pitcher was Jason Grimsley, a reliable right-hander who had been with the team for a few seasons. Grimsley took the mound and began his warm-up pitches, but something seemed off. His fastball, which usually clocked in at around 90 miles per hour, was barely reaching 80. The coaching staff and his teammates were concerned, but Grimsley insisted he was fine and ready to pitch.

The game began, and it quickly became apparent that Grimsley was not himself. He struggled through the first inning, allowing two runs on three hits. As he walked back to the dugout, he knew something was seriously wrong. He informed the coaching staff that he couldn't continue and was taken out of the game.

What happened next was truly bizarre. The Indians' manager, Mike Hargrove, called on a young reliever named Paul Shuey to take over. Shuey had been with the team for a couple of seasons but had never really established himself as a consistent performer. However, on this day, he was about to make history.

Shuey took the mound and began to pitch. From the very first pitch, it was clear that something was different. His fastball was exploding out of his hand, and the Angels' hitters were having trouble even making contact. Shuey continued to dominate, striking out batter after batter with ease.

As the game went on, the crowd at Jacobs Field began to realize that they were witnessing something special. Shuey was not just pitching well; he was pitching a perfect game. Inning after inning, he set down the Angels' hitters in order, not allowing a single baserunner.

By the ninth inning, the tension in the stadium was palpable. The crowd was on its feet, cheering every pitch. Shuey took the mound, knowing that he was just three outs away from history. He quickly retired the first two batters, bringing up the Angels' cleanup hitter, Tim Salmon.

Salmon was a formidable opponent, a slugger who had hit over 30 home runs in a season multiple times. But on this day, he was no match for Shuey. The young reliever threw a blistering fastball that Salmon could only watch as it crossed the plate for strike three. The crowd erupted in cheers as Shuey's teammates rushed the mound to celebrate.

Paul Shuey had just thrown a perfect game, only the 14th in MLB history at the time. It was a stunning achievement for a young pitcher who had never before shown such dominance on the mound. Shuey's performance helped propel the Indians to the playoffs and cemented his place in baseball history.

The perfect game also had a profound impact on Shuey's career. He became a key member of the Indians' bullpen and helped the team reach the World Series in 1995. He played for several more seasons before retiring in 2007.

Today, Paul Shuey's perfect game is still remembered as one of the greatest moments in Cleveland sports history. It was a testament to the unpredictable nature of baseball and the way that a single game can change the course of a season or a career. For one day in September 1994, Paul Shuey was the best pitcher in the world, and he will always be remembered for his incredible achievement.

This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to This Moment in Sports History podcast. On September fourteenth,
nineteen ninety four, a truly remarkable event took place in
the world of baseball. The MLB season was approaching its
final weeks and the playoff race was heating up. However,
on this particular day, something extraordinary happened that would be

(00:20):
remembered for generations to come. The Cleveland Indians were hosting
the California Angels at Jacob's Field. The Indian starting pitcher
was Jason Grimsley, a reliable right hander who had been
with the team for a few seasons. Grimsly took the
mound and began his warm up pitches, but something seemed off.

(00:47):
His fastball, which usually clocked in at around ninety miles
per hour, was barely reaching eighty. The coaching staff and
his teammates were concerned, but Grimsly insisted he was fine
and ready to pick which The game began, and it
quickly became apparent that Grimsly was not himself. He struggled
through the first inning, allowing two runs on three hits.

(01:10):
As he walked back to the dugout, he knew something
was seriously wrong. He fought he informed the coaching staff
that he couldn't continue and was taken out of the game.
What happened next was truly bizarre. The Indians manager Mike
Hargrove called on a young reliever named Paul Schuey to
take over. Schueye had been with the team for a
couple of seasons, but had never really established himself as

(01:33):
a consistent performer. However, on this day, he was about
to make history. Chuey took the mound and began to pitch.
From the very first pitch, it was clear that something
was different. His fastball was exploding out of his hand
and the Angel's hitters were having trouble even making contact.
Schueye continued to dominate, striking out batter after batter with ease.

(01:56):
As the game went on, the crowd at Jacob's Field
began to realized that they were witnessing something special. Shue
was not just pitching well, he was pitching a perfect game.
Inning after inning, he set down the Angel's hitters in order,
not allowing a single base runner. By the ninth inning,
the tension in the stadium was palpable. The crowd was
on its feet, cheering every pitch. Shue took the mound,

(02:20):
knowing that he was just three outs away from history.
He quickly retired the first two batters, bringing up the
Angel's clean up hitter, Tim Salmon. Salmon was a formidable opponent,
a slugger who had hit over thirty home runs in
a season multiple times, but on this day, he was
no match for Shuey. The young reliever. Through a blistering
fastball that Samon could only watch as across the plate

(02:42):
for strike three. The crowd erupted in sheers as Shuey's
teammates rushed the mound to celebrate. Carl Schueye had just
thrown a perfect game, only the fourteenth in MLB history
at the time. It was a stunning achievement for a
young pitcher who had never before shown such dominance on
the mound. Shuey's per performance helped propel the Indians to
the playoffs and cemented his place in baseball history. The

(03:05):
perfect game also had a profound impact on Shuey's career.
He became a key member of the Indians billpin and
helped the team reach the World Series in nineteen ninety five.
He played for several more seasons before retiring in two
thousand and seven. Today, Paul Schuey's perfect game is still
remembered as one of the greatest moments in Cleveland sports history.

(03:52):
It was a testament to the unpredictable nature of baseball
and the way that a single game can change the
course of a season or a career. For one day
in September nineteen ninety four, Paul Shoey was the best
pitcher in the world and he will always be remembered
for his incredible achievement. And that wraps it up. Join
us tomorrow and be sure to hit that subscribe button

(04:14):
so you never miss a daily slice of sports history.
This has been a quiet Please Studios Production. For more
check out Quiet Please dot A I. Thank you for listening.