Aim Point LLC

11/03/2025

Hello, Authors!

I wanted to share that our friend and fellow author, Rob Adams, has successfully published his extraordinary tribute to his childhood baseball card collection and the players they portray: Cardboard Heroes: Favorite Baseball Cards From My Childhood Collection. Many of you may remember Rob from our writing retreats.

Here's the link to purchase his book on Amazon -- it's available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover versions: https://www.amazon.com/Cardboard-Heroes-Favorite-Childhood-Collection/dp/B0FW89BQDV

His official book launch was held yesterday (Sunday, November 2) over Zoom. It was a huge success -- Rob's engaging personality and his wonderful sense of humor showed through. Here's the recording of the event held over Zoom: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/3dewe4iqzjpa3hpmsjg1w/Rob-Adams-Book-Launch-11-2-2025.mp4?rlkey=u9fl60jtzcdrrrrjvzwqhz87w&dl=0

Whether you're an avid baseball fan or not, you're sure to enjoy this book. Here's a review of his book from a renowned baseball publisher recently posted on Amazon:

“Cardboard Heroes isn’t just about baseball cards – it’s about sweet memories, passing time, and learning to appreciate the things that matter most. This book is a joy to read for anyone who’s ever opened a wax pack, traded cards on the playground, or scribbled a mustache on the opposing team’s pitcher. Reading Cardboard Heroes feels like sitting down with an old friend and sorting through a shoebox full of memories. It’s a funny, nostalgic, and even an analytic ride through the history of the game and the hobby that speaks to all of us who grew up with cardboard heroes in our pockets…or pinned to our bicycle spokes.”

You, too, can become the published author of a book you are very proud to call your own. Almost all the wonderful authors I coach are first-timers with extraordinary stories to tell, JUST LIKE YOU! I would love for you to join us at our upcoming writing retreat on December 6-7. It's all done virtually, so there's no travel involved.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to sign up for the retreat yet, there's still room left -- just let me know you're interested. Whether you've attended a retreat before or you're new to this experience, this is a wonderful gift to give yourself as you fulfill the promise you made to write the book that lives within you and yearns to come out! Even if we haven't talked for a while, now is the perfect time to make this commitment ... and it's fun, too! Come join the ranks of all the wonderful authors who have published their extraordinary books through this program.

I look forward to talking with you again soon.

This book is an homage to a golden era of baseball card collecting when they were acquired one card or one wax pack at a time, handled, mangled, and worn out. As a young baseball fan, there was nothing more exciting than opening a new pack of baseball cards and slowly revealing who was included. ...

10/31/2025

It's time to celebrate Adria Sanders, yet another wonderful author who I had the honor of working with to create her own inspiring book. Her book, On the Edge: A Soul-Stirring Memoir of Self-Discovery and Spiritual Awakening, was released earlier this month and is available in paperback and Kindle versions on Amazon. It can be purchased using this link: https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Soul-Stirring-Self-Discovery-Spiritual-Awakening/dp/9730426848

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Here's one of five 5-star reviews (and counting!) of On the Edge on Amazon:

Adria Sanders is a powerful, inspiring author, and her latest book, On the Edge, is an extraordinary example of her wisdom, courage, and insight. Diving into metaphysical and spiritual topics such as past lives, astral projection, and non-terrestrial contact, Adria tells her fascinating story in an engaging, relatable way. We feel what she feels and sense what she senses as she unfolds a series of incredible experiences that help us understand her perspective on the nature of the universe. As a bestselling author myself, I highly recommend On the Edge, regardless of whether the reader has any prior understanding of the topics Adria raises.

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To find out more about Adria and her new book, I invite you to listen to this engaging and informative podcast I conducted with her as the featured guest -- Inside On The Edge: Questions That Matter: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5wwft3x9ew98tpp1muhvp/On-the-Edge-audio-podcast-9-1-2025.mp3?rlkey=yp25jwtgimh6w37ayjzxxt4ox&e=2&dl=0.

This could be you! Almost all of the wonderful authors I coach are first-timers with extraordinary stories to tell, JUST LIKE YOU! I would love for you to join us at our upcoming retreat in a little over one month on December 6-7. It's all done virtually, so there's no travel involved.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to sign up for the retreat yet, there's still room left. Whether you've attended a retreat before or you're new to this experience, this is a wonderful gift to give yourself as you fulfill the promise you made to yourself to write the book that lives within you and yearns to come out! Even if we haven't talked for a while, now is the perfect time to make this commitment ... and it's fun, too! Come join the ranks of all the wonderful authors who have published their extraordinary books through this program.

If you're new to our retreats and if you feel inspired to buy this unique and invigorating experience for yourself or someone you love, you can sign up right now using this link: https://www.paypal.com/webapps/hermes?flow=1-P&ulReturn=true&token=5PY82638KA211301K&useraction=commit&flowType=WPS&mfid=1761937252656_c997565d129e7&ssrt=1761937253326&rcache=1&cookieBannerVariant=hidden

The cost remains a very affordable $197 for newcomers —- this includes a bonus one-hour coaching session with me, where I provide uplifting and encouraging feedback on what you wrote over the weekend.

For those who have attended a retreat previously, whether it's been a long time or not, I would love to see you again. Come join us. Several published authors in this program have used these retreats as their primary method of writing. This method is especially useful for those who are working full-time.

Now is the perfect time for you to move forward on your lifelong goal of publishing your very own book -- even if you haven't thought about it for quite a while. Just send me a quick email, and we can start our conversation.

Best wishes to you and your families. I hope we have a chance to talk soon. 😊

05/08/2025

Big news! Our friend and fellow author Manjul Mishra has successfully published her beautifully inspiring memoir: The Power Within: A Journey of Courage, Healing, and Empowerment. Those of you who have attended our Make Your Book a Reality writing retreats will remember Manjul.

Her official book launch will be held over Zoom on Saturday night, May 31, at 8:00 PM Pacific Time. It is being conducted at that late hour so that her friends in California and her mother, sisters, and other family and friends in India can attend (since it will be 8:30 AM Sunday there).

Here's the link to purchase her book on Amazon -- it's available in Kindle, paperback, and hardcover versions: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Within-Journey-Courage-Empowerment/dp/B0F6YMGWP7

I’m hosting the Zoom book launch, and I’m sure it will be a wonderful celebration of her remarkable achievement. While those in attendance will thoroughly enjoy the event, the opportunity to read her wonderful book is even more important. I encourage you to purchase a copy of your own – I’m certain you'll enjoy it.

All the best to you and your families – I look forward to talking with you again soon.

Here's a description of her book from the back cover:

“I hold myself accountable for my circumstances. It was my choice to grant others power over me – a power that was always mine to keep.” – Manjul Mishra

In a world where societal expectations can feel like shackles, she discovered she held the keys to her own liberation. Manjul Mishra's journey is one of transformation and resilience – an Engineer turned Ayurvedic Practitioner, who discovered her true calling amidst life's toughest challenges.

From navigating the challenges of moving halfway around the world from her Indian homeland to confronting a life-altering autoimmune diagnosis and a betrayal from her arranged-marriage husband, Manjul learned to tackle each hurdle as an opportunity for growth. With strong family support and a fiery spirit, she rose again and again, transforming pain into purpose.

This is the inspiring life story of a woman who discovered her own path to emotional and physical healing. Join Manjul as she shares powerful lessons learned on the sometimes-rocky road to self-discovery and empowerment, proving that it’s never too late to reclaim your life and fulfill your destiny.

My life was shattered early one morning in 2021 when I discovered my husband of 26 years was having an affair with a friend of mine. While it was the final straw in a series of emotional betrayals that had gone on for years, it was still devastating. I decided I was not going to live like this an...

10/02/2024

Big news! My younger brother, Kevin, launched his extraordinary two-volume book about baseball no-hitters on Sunday. This mega-project took over four years of dedicated work. As many of you know, Kevin has been a regular presence at our writing retreats since they started in 2020. He has also participated in my author coaching program while working diligently on his book.

Yesterday – two days after its launch – Kevin's book, "From Randy Johnson to Dallas Braden: No-hitters Beyond the Box Score," achieved a huge milestone: it was identified as the #1 new release in the baseball books category on Amazon. Woo hoo! Congratulations, Kevin!

Kevin's engaging and informative book revolves around 20 fascinating interviews he and two friends conducted with pitchers and catchers who threw or caught no-hitters. The interviewees ranged from Hall of Famer Randy Johnson and perennial All-Star Dave Stieb to players who had only been in the major leagues for a brief period yet experienced their shining moment in the spotlight as no-hit pitchers or catchers.

The book is much more than the player interviews, though. Kevin also has over 140 easy-to-read statistical tables that explore a wide variety of subjects, such as listing the best games ever thrown by Giants pitchers, ranking baseball’s best Dominican pitchers, identifying the best pitchers of the 1980s, and much more. I believe the book's most engaging parts are the stories associated with each of the 23 no-hitters featured. Kevin's two-volume book is available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover versions on Amazon and from bookstores like Barnes & Noble and independent dealers.

Volume I can be purchased on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHYHBQ5W.

Volume II can be purchased on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHYP3J46.

This could be you, too! All the wonderful authors I coach are first-timers with extraordinary stories to tell, JUST LIKE YOU! I would love to have you join us at our upcoming retreat on November 2-3 (just one month away -- mark your calendars!). It's all done virtually, so there's no travel involved.

There's still room left for those who still need to sign up for the retreat. Whether you've been to a retreat before or are brand new to this experience, this is a wonderful gift to give yourself as you fulfill your promise to write the book that lives within you and yearns to come out! Even if we haven't talked for a while, now is the perfect time to make this commitment ... and it's fun, too!

If you're new to our retreats and feel inspired to buy this unique and invigorating experience for yourself or someone you love, you can sign up right now using this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Q3G86GEXNY9CN The cost remains a very affordable $197 for newcomers. This includes a bonus one-hour coaching session with me, where I provide uplifting and encouraging feedback on what you wrote over the weekend.

Now is the perfect time for you to move forward on your lifelong goal of creating and publishing your very own book -- even if you haven't thought about it for quite a while. Just send me a quick email, and we can start our conversation. [email protected].

Best wishes to all of you. I hope we have a chance to talk soon.

07/20/2024

In 1994, the status of g**s and le****ns in the military was complicated. The year prior, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had done a thorough review and delivered a recommendation to President Clinton that homos*xuality was incompatible with military life. Yet, society’s perspective was changing, and the rules associated with discharge from the military because of homos*xual behavior changed along with that.

The result was the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, whereby commanders couldn’t ask about the s*xual orientation of a military member and the military individual was not required to tell their supervisors about their s*xual orientation. Despite this change, the policy still stated that an airman “having s*xual relations or displaying romantic overtures with members of the same s*x or telling anyone about their s*xual orientation is considered homos*xual conduct and is a basis for involuntary discharge.”

Being discharged in this manner was devastating emotionally. The stigma resulting from an involuntary discharge could also remain with a person well beyond military service and affect his or her ability to gain follow-on employment as a civilian. In my opinion, “don’t ask, don’t tell” was highly unfair, since it committed gay and le***an military members to keeping their personal lives secret for fear of being found out.

Despite the continued negative repercussions, it was better than the previous policy, which required the Air Force Office of Special Investigations to actively search for homos*xuals in the military, intending to discover and discharge them. A couple of times early in my career, I remember squadron friends just disappearing. One day we were joking around at work and the next they were gone from the squadron and the Air Force. No forwarding address or phone number. No explanation given, although we knew what probably had happened because of the way things were handled. It was terrible. To this day, I feel bad for them. I didn’t even have time to say goodbye or offer words of support, it all happened so quickly.

As an officer, and especially as a squadron commander, I was responsible for upholding the regulations, policies, and orders of those officers senior to me. I could not pick which ones I would enforce and which I would ignore — uneven implementation of rules was one of the surest ways to lose credibility and undermine discipline. This meant I had to enforce the official policy regarding discharge of service members who were gay or le***an. End of discussion.

Still, I could provide different levels of attention to specific regulations without being disobedient. Of the many priorities I had to focus on as a commander, discharging g**s and le****ns was at the absolute bottom of my priority list. And it never, ever moved up.

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The passage above is an excerpt from Chapter 14 of my book “Aim Point: An Air Force Pilot’s Lessons for Navigating Life.” That chapter focuses on an extremely challenging situation I was confronted with when I was the deployed commander of a squadron flying combat support missions out of Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates. My 250-member unit was flying round-the-clock air refueling missions supporting Operation Southern Watch, the enforcement of the Southern No-Fly Zone over Iraq. The issue in question involved an officer in my squadron who was accused of making repeated, unwanted advances toward an airman. Not only was there an officer/enlisted element to the complaint that was filed, but both individuals were women.

Recently, I was reminded of this experience when I ran across an ABC News article that focused on a DoD program intended to help veterans who received less-than-honorable discharges for “homos*xual conduct” upgrade those discharges to honorable status.

Here’s the link to the article: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pentagon-states-begin-new-push-lgbt-veterans-kicked/story?id=105854392

I’m very pleased this effort is underway. While it will not undo damage that has already been inflicted, it will still be a huge help to those who have been negatively affected by this policy. Perhaps the greatest benefit will be the overdue recognition and well-deserved appreciation these veterans will receive for their service. These men and women volunteered to serve their country with all that entails. It’s time for us to recognize them and thank them for all the sacrifices they have made and all they have done to keep us safe.

… And for those who may be wondering, the story I began telling above has a happy ending I describe it in much greater detail in my book. Both individuals were treated with respect and dignity. The situation was resolved and did not repeat itself, and no punitive action was taken.

The Biden administration and several states are mounting new efforts to help LGBTQ veterans kicked out of the military before Congress ended the gay ban in 2011.

06/17/2024

“Room Ten-Hut!”

I was a 23-year-old second lieutenant student pilot at Air Force pilot training. All 19 of the students in my section jumped out of our chairs and stood at attention, eyes facing forward. The instructor pilots in our flight filed in and gathered at the back of the room while one of them walked to the front and stood at the podium. He addressed us. We remained at attention.

“You are in Muleshoe Area. You are near the end of your training mission. You look at your fuel gauge and you’ve reached bingo fuel. Time to return to base. Suddenly, your #1 engine fire light comes on. you look over your left shoulder and you see your plane is trailing smoke. What do you do … Lieutenant Hurd?”

The other 18 students sit down. It’s my turn in the barrel. They have chosen me today. I carefully responded to the scenario, reciting the precisely memorized procedures we used for specific emergency procedures. The instructor continued with follow-up questions to ensure I properly reacted to whichever way the scenario developed. Finally, after several minutes standing at attention and answering questions, the instructor told me I could sit down. I had passed.

There is no winning in this situation. If I answer the scenario correctly, complete with follow-up questions and alternative situations, I get to remain on the flying schedule. I’m expected to answer correctly. If I don’t get everything right, I’m unceremoniously removed from the flying schedule, and I get a failing mark for the entire day. Worse than that, if I fail, I’m on my way to developing a reputation for being lazy, unprepared, and not able to perform under pressure. “Can this guy even cut it?” the instructors would wonder. It was a no-win situation —the best I could do was not lose any ground. This ritual went on every day of our flight training for the entire year. And this was only one of the many ways the instructors used to intimidate students.

Air Force pilot training was hard. It was in-your-face, it was relentless, and it lasted a full year. The Air Force designed it to put constant pressure on student pilots. Many of the instructors were hardcore, no-bullsh*t, Vietnam veterans in this all-male environment. Any actions or words that showed the slightest trace of uncertainty or weakness were magnified 10 times and shown to the entire world. There was a saying among many of the instructors that the best motivators for a student were “fear, sarcasm, and ridicule.” It became clear that those students unprepared for the day’s training flights, failed stand-up, or just weren’t hacking it would get a lot more unwanted attention.
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The passage above is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of my book “Aim Point: An Air Force Pilot’s Lessons for Navigating Life” – the chapter that focuses on what I regard as the most difficult single year of my life: the year I went through Air Force pilot training.

The reason I thought about my pilot training experience so many years ago was because I ran across a fascinating article in Air & Space Forces Magazine, the official publication of the Air & Space Forces Association – formerly known as the Air Force Association. The article focused on a new training program designed to help instill mental toughness in Air Force pilots.

Here’s the link to the article: https://www.airandspaceforces.com/air-force-pilot-training-craft-mental-toughness/

It would be easy to wonder why today’s USAF pilots need to go through a training course to become mentally tough. Aren’t they tough enough already? Yet, when I look back on 1978 -- my year in pilot training – and my career serving as a pilot in the Air Force, I realize that developing mental toughness was essential to my flying success.

This lesson goes far beyond the cockpit, though. We all need to develop mental resiliency, refuse to dwell on our mistakes, regain our focus when things go wrong, and handle stressful situations effectively. This is true no matter what we do in our professional and personal lives.

I applaud the Air Force for recognizing the need for this type of training. It will make for better, more effective pilots and will lead to greater mission success. And because the Air Force is markedly smaller than when I joined in 1978, it’s more important than ever to get the most we can from our wonderful Airmen.

05/26/2024

Hello, published authors and future published authors!

Mark your calendars! We have a big book launch event coming up!
First-time author Jan Hochstetler is launching her engaging and inspiring book (Always More to Learn: Joy, Faith and Resilience as a Career Educator) on Monday, June 3rd.

Her book launch will be held at the iconic Prairie Lights Books bookstore located at 15 S. Dubuque St in Iowa City across from the University of Iowa. The event will start at 7:00 PM Central Time and will feature Jan discussing her book and answering questions.

If you live in Iowa City or nearby, I highly recommend going to this remarkable event. You can purchase her book at Prairie Lights Books, of course (and Jan will be there to sign your book!). If you can’t make it on Monday, you can order her book from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Always-More-Learn-Resilience-Educator/dp/B0D1244N1C. It’s available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats.

A remarkably talented new author, I got to know Jan during one of my writing retreats and as part of my author-coaching program. I had the honor of working with her as she created her insightful and engaging book. Here is just one review of Always More to Learn:

“Always More to Learn is the inspiring story of Jan Hochstetler, a career educator who went from disillusioned school teacher to beloved principal of a faith-based elementary school facing long odds as it struggled to establish itself in an underserved community. While teachers and school administrators will especially connect with the classroom and leadership challenges Jan faced, her highly engaging and down-to-earth writing style will also resonate with parents and religious leaders. A humble woman of deep faith and conviction, Jan has so many lessons for all of us in her uplifting, compelling book. I enjoyed Always More to Learn immensely.”

Don’t miss this extraordinary event celebrating a talented new author and her exceptional book! Jan is highlighted in this post -- feel free to send her a note congratulating her on her book launch or asking any questions you might have about her journey through the writing and publishing process.

As we approach the Summer Season and enjoy the opportunity to appreciate our friends and family, it's also a wonderful time to begin writing your own inspiring story. Our next writing retreat for first-time authors will be held on July 20-21. It’s all done virtually, so no travel is necessary.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to sign up for the retreat yet, there's still room left. This is a wonderful gift to give yourself as you fulfill the promise you made (to yourself) to write the book that lives within you and yearns to come out! Now is the perfect time to make this commitment ... and it's fun, too!

If you're new to our retreats and you're feeling inspired to buy this unique and invigorating experience for yourself or someone you love, you can sign up right now using this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Q3G86GEXNY9CN

The cost remains a very affordable $197 for newcomers -- this includes a bonus one-hour coaching session with me where I provide uplifting and encouraging feedback on what you wrote over the weekend.

Now is the perfect time for you to move forward on your lifelong goal of publishing a book you will be very proud to call your own -- even if you haven't thought about it for quite a while. Just send me a quick email and we can get our conversation started.

11/05/2023

Mark your calendars! We have a big Veterans Day event coming up!

First-time author Colonel Chris Pike is launching his powerfully inspiring book (Leading to Win: The Model for Great Leadership as Demonstrated by Military History and the Messiah) this Veterans Day (Saturday, November 11th).

His book launch will be held at the Barnes & Noble bookstore located in The Woodlands Mall at 1201 Lake Woodlands Dr. in The Woodlands, Texas, just outside of Houston. The event will start at 1:00 PM Central Time and will feature Chris discussing his book and answering questions.

If you live in Houston or nearby, I highly recommend going to this remarkable event. You can purchase his book at the Barnes and Noble store, of course (and Chris will be there to sign your book!). If you can’t make it on Saturday, you can order his book from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Win-Leadership-Demonstrated-Military/dp/B0CF3K5JXW It’s available in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats.

A remarkably skilled leader, I got to know Chris well when we served together at the United States European Command in Stuttgart, Germany from 2001-2004. I also had the honor of working with him as he created his remarkably insightful and engaging book. Here is just one review of Leading to Win:

"Leading to Win provides an incredibly effective and functional leadership philosophy rooted in a powerful concept: Assign the right people to the right tasks. Drawing from his distinguished military career, Pike takes readers on a journey of discovery (or rediscovery for some,) sharing pivotal moments that shaped his own leadership approach. Anchored in the principle of strategic task assignment, the book defines a comprehensive set of five guiding principles to foster effective leadership and winning results. Peppered with captivating historical anecdotes, including figures like Robert E. Lee and Dwight Eisenhower, each chapter showcases the application (or misapplication) of these principles. An innovative twist reveals the model's universal relevance through a case study of Jesus Christ's leadership in forming a global church. Leading to Win arms readers with the mindset to achieve mission success, a blueprint to guide their path, and the knowledge that history has already proven Colonel Pike's model works."

Don’t miss this extraordinary event celebrating a talented new author and his exceptional book! Chris is copied on this email -- feel free to send him a note congratulating him on his book launch or you can ask any questions you might have about his journey through the writing and publishing process.

As we approach the Holiday Season and enjoy the opportunity to appreciate our friends and family, it's also a wonderful time to begin writing your own inspiring story. Our next writing retreat for first-time authors will be held on January 20-21 (right after the New Year!). It’s all done virtually, so no travel is necessary.

For those of you who haven't had a chance to sign up for the retreat, there's still room left. This is a wonderful gift to give yourself as you fulfill the promise you made (to yourself) to write the book that lives within you and yearns to come out! Now is the perfect time to make this commitment ... and it's fun, too!

If you're new to our retreats and you're feeling inspired to buy this unique and invigorating experience for yourself or someone you love, you can sign up right now using this link: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=Q3G86GEXNY9CN

The cost remains a very affordable $197 for newcomers -- this includes a bonus one-hour coaching session with me where I provide uplifting and encouraging feedback on what you wrote over the weekend.

Now is the perfect time for you to move forward on your lifelong goal of publishing a book you will be very proud to call your own -- even if you haven't thought about it for quite a while. Just send me a quick IM and we can get our conversation started.

Leading to Win: The Model for Great Leadership as Demonstrated by Military History and the Messiah

07/28/2023

OK, I freely admit I’m a baseball nerd. Rather than push against this obsession, I have chosen to embrace my nerdiness. At the moment, I am helping my amazing brother Kevin – who may be an even worse obsessive than me – write his book about major league no-hitters. For those who may not know, a no-hitter is the pinnacle of pitching achievement. When a pitcher throws a no-hitter, the opposing team fails to get a single hit during a nine-inning game. As you might imagine, throwing a no-hitter is a rare event. To put this in perspective, there have only been 320 no-hitters in the 147 years major league baseball has existed. Historically, a no-hitter has occurred roughly two or three times each season out of the thousands of games that are played annually.

Kevin’s beautifully detailed book revolves around the personal stories surrounding two dozen no-hitters, including insightful interviews with the pitchers and catchers who achieved them. Along with telling their personal stories, Kevin does extensive analysis of the players and teams involved in the games. We are nearing the final stages of producing his book, and when it is published it will be an exciting addition for any baseball fan’s library.

One special subset of no-hitters, though, is the “perfect game.” This accomplishment is the rarest of the rare, because throwing a perfect game means that the pitcher retires every single batter he faces. That means he has to get 27 outs in a row with no one reaching base on a hit, error, walk, hit-by-pitch, strikeout-and-wild pitch, or any other way a runner can reach first base. There have only been 24 perfect games out of the 35,000+ games that have ever been played.

On June 28th – one month ago – Domingo German of the New York Yankees accomplished the nearly impossible and threw a perfect game against the (admittedly struggling) Athletics at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The last perfect game before his gem was thrown almost 11 years earlier by Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners in 2012. There were over 2,400 games between the two events.

German is a rather unlikely pitcher to have thrown the latest perfect game, too. Unlike superstars Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Jacob DeGrom, and other All-Stars from the past decade, German’s career has been a mixed bag since he broke in to the majors in 2017 at the age of 24. His best season, by far, was 2019 when he won 18 games and lost only four. After missing the entire Covid-shortened 2020 season, German has struggled to regain his form as he carries an 11-16 record and a 4.29 Earned Run Average since then. That type of performance won’t carry a 30-year-old pitcher too much farther in his career.

Yet, exactly one month ago German pitched magnificently and accomplished something no current Major League pitcher has ever done. Along with that, German is the first Dominican pitcher to throw a perfect game, a feat not achieved by fellow countrymen Hall of Famers Juan Marichal and Pedro Martinez, along with a host of perennial All-Stars.

Making this even more remarkable, German had been doing terribly leading up to that game. During his last two starts prior to the perfect game, he had given up 15 runs in just over five innings – this, of course, is not good. He had also been suspended for 10 games in May for putting too much of a foreign substance (rosin) on the balls he was throwing. Before he pitched his perfect game, it was probably a safe bet the Yankees would not renew German’s one-year contract when it expired at the end of this season.

Still, this is part of the great attraction of baseball. Every game, something extraordinary can happen. And it’s not always the stars who etch their names in the record books. Sometimes, it’s just an average player who – for one shining day – unexpectedly does something perfect.

Congratulations to Domingo German. Even for non-Yankee fans like me, his accomplishment is something to be marveled at and celebrated.

I love baseball.

New York veteran starter Domingo German authored a perfect game against the Oakland Athletics on Wednesday night, as the Yankees right-hander allowed no hits and no walks on 99 pitches in an 11-0 victory at the Oakland Coliseum.