By JOEY JOHNSTON
Tribune Staff Writer
(c) Tampa Bay Times. Originally published July 30, 1994.
Ten hours after completing his perfect game — no runs, no hits, no errors, then no sleep — Kenny Rogers approached the first tee Friday morning. He had one thought.
Hole-in-one. Guaranteed.
It didn’t happen.
“That’s a lot easier to accomplish than pitching a perfect game,” Rogers said by telephone from Arlington, Texas. “I couldn’t even get a dang hole-in-one. I’m a decent golfer, usually about an eight [handicap], but I’m not telling you what I shot. I was hacking up the course. Hey, I didn’t care. Never had so much fun. I was flying around on a cloud. I felt kind of invincible.”
Baseball immortality can do that.
Kenny Rogers, a former Plant City High School outfielder, once thought he was destined for work in his family’s Dover strawberry fields. Now his handiwork will be displayed at Cooperstown. Thursday night, he became only the 14th pitcher in major-league history to throw a perfect game, lifting his Texas Rangers past California 4-0.
“I’ve got the list right here,” said Rogers, now 11-6. “John Ward, that was in 1880 … Cy Young … Don Larsen … Sandy Koufax … Catfish Hunter … and this guy at the end, Kenny Rogers. Me! That’s one helluva club I belong to now. One day, this will sink in. For now, I can’t quite comprehend it.
“I got no sleep at all. I called home [to Dover] about midnight because I wanted to make sure my parents had seen the game. I wanted to make sure my dad hadn’t had a heart attack because he gets pretty excited. We stayed up all night. My wife [Becky] kept talking about the game. Then I went and did the “Good Morning America’ show before playing golf. I’m running on fumes now, but it has been wild.
“I’ve got to admit one thing. I’ve got an amazing story. I mean, the best writer in the world couldn’t come up with something more incredible. I have come a long, long way.”
The story really began in 1982. Rogers sat out two high-school seasons because he couldn’t get transportation to Plant City’s practices. As a senior, he made Coach Charlie Perdomo’s team and hit .375. He was a 5-foot-10, 135-pound outfielder.
His life turned when the Raiders traveled to Robinson High for a routine Western Conference game. Robinson prospect Stanley Boderick, who would become a first-round selection, attracted a dozen scouts, including Joe Marchese of the Rangers.
“The ironic thing is I never pitched all season,” said Rogers, 29, who lives full time in Arlington with his wife and baby daughter, Jessie. “But that one scout saw something in me. I don’t know what. He watched me during drills and liked my arm, the fact I was left-handed. I never thought I would get drafted because I was so scrawny and inexperienced. But he [Marchese] kept saying, “You’ll get bigger.’
“That man had a crystal ball. He was brilliant or something. He took me to Tiger Town [Lakeland spring-training facility] and I pitched to my brother. I didn’t know what I was doing, had no clue how to pitch. But he liked me. If that scout didn’t see me, I guess I’m in big trouble. I might’ve gone to college. But more likely, I would’ve been working in the fields. Crazy, huh?”
After seven years in the minor leagues, Rogers made the Rangers for good in 1989. He has served mostly as a reliever, but earned a permanent starting assignment last season. And all the while, he has been learning to pitch.
“There are some advantages to my situation,” Rogers said. “My arm didn’t get abused in Little League. I didn’t learn any bad habits. It took me so long to find my rhythm, just learning a simple fastball, but I have a lot of years left. My best games are ahead of me.”
None will be finer than Thursday night, though.
California’s Rex Hudler led off the ninth inning with a blooper to center field — it looked like a sure hit — but Texas’ Rusty Greer made a tremendous diving catch.
“That lifted me,” Rogers said. “So much pressure on Rusty and he did that. That’s when I thought, “This was meant to happen.’ I got a routine two-bouncer. Then the last out was to Rusty in center. At first, I thought, “Well, Rusty will blow this easy one.’ But he caught it.
“I just stood there on the mound. My mind was blank. I didn’t know what to do or who to hug. Will [Clark] got to me first, then I was practically stampeded. I’ll never forget how fun the crowd was. Usually, they need a 15-12 game to have a great time. But they were definitely into this one.”
Rogers will start again Tuesday against the Chicago White Sox. But Monday will bring an even more meaningful event.
“You won’t believe where I’m going Monday; you just won’t believe it,” Rogers said. “The David Letterman Show! He wants me on. That show makes me laugh. I never thought I’d be on it one day. Everything’s going so great for me. I don’t know how to describe it.”
How about perfect? That fits.
