Meet Ryan Verdugo, the Mexican pitcher who made history in CPBL

Ryan Verdugo is a Mexican-American professional baseball player. This is how Wikipedia introduces him. He is one of the pitchers on the roster of Mexico for the WBSC Premier12.

Verdugo was born in Pasadena, California. "My grandparents immigrated from Mexico and I grew up in Southern California. I still feel connected to the Mexican culture. When they asked me to represent Mexico, I did feel honoured."

Verdugo did not get into the game that Mexico won against Chinese Taipei to open the Premier12 Super Round on Monday. He celebrated the win with his team mates and after that took his time to shake a few hands. Verdugo has spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons for the Uni President 7-Eleven Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

Ryan Verdugo will belong to the history of CPBL forever. On 7 October 2018 he became the first pitcher in the history of the league to pitch a perfect game.

"I had great control that day," recalled Verdugo. "The Chinatrust Brothers were very aggressive from the beginning, so I didn't need a lot of pitches to go deep in the game. I also must credit my defense, that made the right plays."

Nine perfect innings were not enough to earn the win: "We entered the bottom of the ninth with no score," added Verdugo. He needed more help from his team and he got it when third baseman Kuo Fu-Lin led off the ninth inning with a walk-off home run. "I remember very well that moment. It was really cool."

Verdugo's contract with the Lions expired at the end of the 2019 season. "We haven't talked about 2020 yet. They like to get into this discussion a little later than November. I'm open to it, I've had a very good time there."

Playing in Asia may be a challenge for a Western young man: "You get to see your family and friends once a year, so it is indeed a challenge, but I only have good memories. The club took really good care of me and other players and coaches did their best to make communication easier."

After the day of rest, Verdugo and Mexico will concentrate again on the last game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round and their quest for a spot in the Olympic Games. "We really came together as a team. So far it's been a great experience. It would be such a big honour representing Mexico in the Olympic Games."