A perfect game is a team thing

In the world of sports, there are few opportunities to come up perfect.

Sure bowling has its perfect 300 game, but that is an individual accomplishment. A perfect game in baseball or softball is a true instance of perfect teamwork.

While it is the pitcher who is credited with pitching a perfect game - a game in which no opposing batter reaches first base - there has never been one accomplished that did not require the work of the rest of the team.

For pitchers to be overpowering, they must have an arsenal of pitches at their command, all of which move in different directions. A perfect game requires a catcher who can follow the ball well and not allow a wild pitch to advance a runner to first base.

Each batter who does not strike out in a perfect game puts the ball into play. That always requires a clean catch of a fly ball or line drive. In the event of a grounder, no less than three things have to take place perfectly - the fielder must catch the ball cleanly and make an accurate throw to first base, and the first baseman must catch the throw cleanly. Every time.

Each time I sit down to begin writing stories and planning the contents for the sports section, I want to pitch "the perfect paper." I've yet to achieve one and most likely never will, but it does not deter me from trying.

Mine would also be an entire team effort, as is every Tri-County Newspaper sports section that is produced. We always have a lot of balls in the air in the form of different athletic contests. We need to field them all cleanly, meaning we need to track down the results.

Once the ball (the contents) leaves my hand (my computer), I then rely on the work of an editor who checks the words I've written, and a graphic designer who arranges them all on the printed page.

Sometimes I figuratively drop a ball in the form of a misspelled name or miss getting a result from a game that was rescheduled. One error is all it takes to louse up a perfect paper.

It's healthy to aspire to perfection, but unhealthy to dwell on it when it doesn't happen.

Even without perfection, I'd like to thank my fellow teammates who work so hard behind me.

Craig Purcell is sports editor for Tri-County Newspapers. Contact him at 824-1036 or cpurcell@tcnpress.com.