These are great..
We'll use them in Central Park..
No, we can use them out here.
Have you ever gotten your heart broken?
When we lost the pennant in '87.
Would you still love me if I got burned in a fire?
If I ran into a tree and got paralyzed?
What if I were totally disfigured?
If my face were all scraped away....
...l had no arms, no legs, no brain waves...
...and I was being kept alive on a heart-lung machine, would you love me?
No..
But we could still be friends, though..
Do you believe in God?
How old do you think you're gonna be when you die?
Do you like white meat or dark?
Dark.
You know, the dark part's more fatty.
But it's cool. It's cool that you like that part.
You like it chopped up and.....
You know how people dice it in that salad, the chef salad?n
Or you like it torn? 'Cause I personally like it torn.
Not that you have to like it how I like it.
No questions.
Why do you ask me all this stuff?
Because I want to know you.
Breaking ball. A comebacker, right at Billy Chapel...
...to hold on to the line drive.
This is one of those chuck-and-duck pitches.
When you throw quick, it comes back at you that quick...
...it's almost like the ball catches you.
And so far, Chapel is getting away with it.
Go Tigers! Go Tigers!v
We have one out here in the top of the sixth inning. No score.
Spellman has allowed two hits. Chapel has been perfect..
And the batter is Gus Sinski, 0 for 1.
Gus has had a tough year this year at the plate...
...but he's paid for what he does behind the plate..
He handles his pitching staff so well and any kind of hit that he gets...
...is a bonus for this club.
Jaime Ruiz is a little slow in coming up with it.
Get down! Get down!
-Safe! -It wasn't close!
He beat the play!
Good call.
Well, in a game like this, that could be a huge play.
The last double Sinski had...
...was during the Reagan administration..
And the Yankees are now on the phone talking to the bullpen.
And they get a left-hander up.
Bobby Mack is ticked off with the Yankees...
...and he gives batter José Garcia the intentional walk.
In a moment, there will be runners at first and second, one out in the sixth...
...no score, and a left-hand hitter coming up..
That would be Brian Whitt.
I was just looking for you.
Oh, my God.
I can't feel anything.
Hold this. Close your fingers around it.
Hold it up.
Hold on, Billy.
Occupation?n
Pitcher. He's hurt his hand. We need a doctor.
-Are you his wife? -No.
Are you a relative?a
Then I'll have to ask you to wait outside.
My friend cut his hand. It's bleeding very deeply.
-Is there one of you that can help? -Ma'am!
Is this not America?i
Is baseball not America's favorite pastime?
-Can I help you? -Are you a doctor?
Thank you, God.
I'm right here.
-Jane, call Mike Udall. -What?
The trainer in Detroit. Call him.
-Tell him what happened. -I'm going with you.
Sorry. There's not enough room in the medevac..
You're gonna need to stay here.
Call Mike! He's the most important person for me right now.
You need to clear out.
There's a little flare just by Howell's glove into right field....
Here comes Sinski. Colborn waved him to the plate.
-The throw. He is in there! -Safe! Safe!
And the Tigers take a 1-0 lead.
What a great slide by Sinski, sliding away from the play at the plate.
Jim Colborn, the third base coach, didn't even hesitate.
The catcher, the slowest guy on the team, passes third in a scoreless game.
No hesitation at all. Sent him all the way.
It's all bullshit, Billy. Don't listen to it.
You've done it all. You've won every award there is to win.
You've got a room reserved at Cooperstown, Billy.
Ijust don't know how much more you have to prove.
And even ifyou do come back, you're not gonna be 100 percent.
Billy, you may not even be 50.,
-What'd you say? -Nothing.%
Let's knock off for today. Jane's here.
-What did you say? -Nothing.
You said "if."
-I didn't mean "if." -But you said "if."
-I only meant that-- -You think I'm not coming back?
-Say it. -You're tired. Let's quit for--
Say it, chickenshit.
You got a job. That's to get me strong, and get me back.
You get me back.
I'll figure out how to win.
You want to work with me tomorrow, you get your mind right.
You get it right, or you don't come around me.
-You mad at me or Mike? -Why would I be mad at Mike??
You practically tore his head off.
-Talk to me. -Talk? You don't want to talk.
You just want to give me your version of why I should quit.
-I want this shit out of here. -What are you trying to do?p
Are you trying to make me mad?a
You're gonna pack my things, make me go so you can feel sorry for yourself.
Forget it, Billy. You can't cook.
You can't drive.
I'll hire somebody to drive me.
Someone who doesn't talk? Doesn't think bad thoughts?
We are gonna get through this. You just have to try.
Try? Goddamn it! I'm the only one who's trying here.
I got nobody in the front office, nobody in the press...
...and now I got nobody in this house that thinks I'm gonna make it back.
-I have been nothing but supportive of you. -I don't even want you here, Jane!
Don't you get it?
You make me feel distracted.
You make me feel weak.
You taught me something.
You taught me how to believe again.
How good things can happen, and that they will happen.
But now you need to let me teach you something about what I know.
About how sometimes life seems like it's slamming you down...
...but it's really giving you a gift.
I had a baby when I was 16.
That could have wrecked me, but it didn't.
Instead it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
You mean if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade?
You are such an asshole.
If you're telling me I'm not ever gonna hold that ball again....
I can't.
Haven't you ever loved anything that much?
I'll call the airlines.
See what kind of flights I can make.
You do that.
-Strike! -Something happen to Chapel?
Frank Perry is on the steps of the dugout...
...and apparently he didn't like what he saw.
Give me the ball.
What are you.... Give me the ball!
Stay there..
There's something wrong with either his arm, his elbow or his shoulder.
He doesn't look very comfortable..
-Bill, he's hurt. -Here he comes. He's going out to visit.
-You just do something there? -No.
-You hurting? -No..
How long?a
Ten years.
-What do you want to do? -I'd like you to smile at me...
...pat me on the fanny and march your butt to that dugout and sit down.
-I want this goddamn game, Billy. -I want it, too.
If it gets any worse, I'll sit down.
Ready to go?v
Where's my pat?j
Thank you.
-You let me know. -Yeah. He's all right.
-He's flexing his hand. -What?
He does that when his arm's tingling.
Soon he'll not be able to feel anything and--
You know him?
Yeah, and I know Mickey fucking Mantle.
Hey, watch the language, okay? There's people in here.
God, I hate Yankee fans..
How can you leave when your guy's winning?
-He's not gonna win. -How do you know?á
Because he's hurting and he won't tell anyone, and he won't come out.
I don't know.
Honey, I hope you're wrong..
As you mentioned earlier...
...there's no love lost at all between Tuttle and Chapel...
...and Tuttle wouldjust love to break up this perfecto right now.
Yes, he would.
And he bunts up along third! Down to get it.
Backhanded by Chapel, throws to first.
What are you bunting for, Tuttle? We need a hit, you pansy!
And for the third time today...
...Sam Tuttle has boiled over, arguing now...
...with first base umpire Richie Garcia.
-Take another look at it. -Only Chapel could field this ball.
He's like a cat off the mound, going to the side.
He slides, picks up the ball and throws it.
That enabled him to get up quicker than tojust bend over.
What a mix we have going on for the last two innings.
And sitting alone upstairs, owner Gary Wheeler...
...reportedly has already sold his ball club, the Tigers...
...to the corporate group in the box to his left.
And now an unconfirmed report beginning to ripple the water...
...that the corporate's first business would be to trade Billy Chapel...
...when the season is over.
As so often happens in a ball game, there are so many other undercurrents...
...so many more things than meet the eye, and here we have it all.
A beleaguered owner selling a ball club...
...perhaps the new owner selling the biggest star on the club...
...and all the while, Billy Chapel perhaps...
...trying to make the decision of his life.
Does he remain a big leaguer?
Or, after 19 years, will he call it quits?
See that? Man, it just...
-...takes off. I don't even know-- -Use the seams.
I am using the seams, but I can't feel the seams.
Tell her about the exhibition you went to with the she-male paintings.
You know, the portraits.... Tell her that one.
-You tell them. -It's your story.
-Will you excuse me? -Sure.
I don't have enough black on, or what?
No. It's just that you're not on the list.
-You need an invitation to get in. -Here comes my invitation.
It's all right.
I tried to tell him that...
...baseball's America's favorite pastime but he wasn't....
I called your office. They told me where you were. I hope you don't mind.
How's your hand?
Better?
You look beautiful..
Excuse me just one moment.
Jane, what's the--e
-Yeah. -So nice to finally meet you. I'm lan.
-Ian? The editor? -Yes, I guess so.
Jane's told me so much about you. So, you're in town with the team?
-Yeah. -I saw you play against the Padres...
...in the World Series in the '80s, when I worked in LA.
-It was fantastic. -You like baseball?k
May l??
Do you like the paintings?
Would you excuse us? We're gonna have a drink.
You don't smoke.
I do sometimes.
Billy, you surprised me here.
I didn't know....
-I have to go. -Let me walk you. Let me give you a ride.
I can't..
-Why not? -Because I came with someone.
-What? -I came with lan.
You mean like a date?
Are you seeing him?
I haven't seen you in five months. You haven't called.
-I called. -Three times in five months.
-You knew what I was doing. -What about what I've been doing?
You don 't know what I've been doing for the last five months.
You come in here, you insult my friends...
-...you embarrass me-- -I didn't insult anybody.
The prick asked me if I liked the painting. I said I didn't.
And I didn't come in here to embarrass you.
You could have told me. You could have said something.
-Said what? -Goddamn it, you never just...
-...lay it out there. -Lay what out there?
That you hurt me? ls that what you want?
How on the plane ride home...
...the flight attendant had to ask me how I was?
How in the cab, I couldn't tell the cab driver where I lived?
Or how I had to beg Heather to sleep with me? ls that what you want?
Is that what you want me to tell you? I'll tell you all about it.
I'm sorry about what I said to you that day in the condo.
It's all right.
It doesn't matter anymore.
I think maybe that you and I are just...
...not the same kind of people..
I'm pitching tomorrow night in Yankee Stadium.
I want you to come. You and Heather.
Please. It's my first game back. I want you to be there.
I'll be watching you..
You know I'll always be watching you...
...just not from the friends' box.
The Tigers with a 1-0 lead...
...but the story would be the inability of the Yankees...
...to do anything with Chapel.
No runs, no hits, no errors...
...but more importantly, no base runners of any kind.
Billy Chapel is looking a possible perfect game right in the eye.
Billy Chapel all alone, his teammates staying away.
They don't want to intrude upon the zone.
So Wheeler rooting for a kid that he signed when...
-You guys, please. -...Billy Chapel was in high school..
And Wheeler now seeing the fruition of the hope...
...and the long work in the 19 years, with six outs away.
How you doing, ace?
Anybody been on base?
Nobody..
Nobody?
This I ain't seen much of.
Me neither.
I never have.
What's the matter?
I don't know if I have anything left..
You just throw whatever you've got. Whatever's left.
The boys are all here for you..
We'll back you up. We'll be there.
'Cause, Billy...
...we don't stink right now.
We're the best team in baseball right now, right this minute, 'cause of you.
You're the reason.
We're not gonna screw that up. We're gonna be awesome for you.
Just throw..
All right? Come on.
Billy Chapel has retired 21 consecutive batters...
...triking out eight.
And as the Fates would have it...
...one of his closest friends and a former teammate, Davis Birch...
...will try to snatch the diamond away from him...
...leading off in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Ball one, and now the question, of course...
...how much petrol has Billy Chapel got in the tank?
Remember, it wasjust two innings ago...
...that he started to hurt, the arm tightened up.
Somehow or other he got through it, but now...
...he is in the eighth inning, facing a most dangerous hitter.
Ball two.
Get Stafford up.
I can see the scoreboard. I know what's going on. Just in case.
Retire!'
You can do it..
Just calm down.
Throw the ball to the glove. Just play catch.
So a moment of truth, and he's had several, for Billy Chapel.
3 and 0.!
Strike one!
You want to see a big-time pitch?
When you consider the noise, the situation...
...this stadium, that's unbelievable.
They put the handcuffs on him, 3 and 0, but he's such an aggressive hitter...
...you know they're gonna green-light him 3 and 1.
There it goes!h
There's a high drive into deep right field!
Back goes Mickey Hart to the track at the wall...
...and leaps up and one-hands it!
I love you, Mickey Hart!r
He took a home run away from Davis Birch...
...and the perfecto is still alive!c
What a play by Mickey Hart.
This is a ball right out over the middle and Birchjust hammers it.
You got lucky again, Chapel! That's a great play!r
I'll miss you the most, Scarecrow.
Ma'am? Are you coming?a
I'm sorry. You'll have to board now.
Give my seat to somebody else.
Twenty-two consecutive outs retired by Billy Chapel...
...and he goes head-to-head with Lenny Howell.
Fastball pulled to the right side. A sliding stop by Marcus Ransom to get him.
That's the second time today...
...that Ransom has taken a base hit away from Lenny Howell.
And now four outs away.
We haven't seen Billy Chapel go this far into a game...
...for a lot of starts now.
He looks very, very tired..
Now the batter will be Ted Franklin...
...the local boy from New York.
You know he wants to atone for two strikeouts.
High, twisting foul, off to the right of the plate.
Sinski coming back, and makes the play.
Chapel has done it for eight, retiring 24 consecutive batters.
Billy Chapel is certainly getting more than a little help from his friends.
Thanks.C
-Billy Chapel, right? -Right.
I took my kids to see you play your rookie year...
...a long time ago. You were great.
-Thank you. -I'll be there in one minute.
-Do you remember me? -Heather! Sweetheart.
How are you? I mean....
-What are you doing here? -I'm going to U.S.C.
-Really? -Yeah.
That's great.
-Are you playing the Angels or.... -Yeah, here for the Angels.
-How's your season going? -Okay.
Well, not so good, really, but...
...it's almost over now.
How's your mom?
Heather, hurry up.
She's good. She's really good.
Go.
I miss you.
I miss you, too.
-You don't have plans, do you? -No, I don't.
Well, I'm gonna be there, and it's been awhile..
A long time.
I just thought dinner at the Waldorf might be nice.
About 6:00?p
How about 8:00, your room?
Even better.
Great. I'll see you then.
I knew it...
...the day I first met you five years ago. I've always known.
You don't need me.
You and the ball and the diamond, you're perfect.
You're a perfectly beautiful thing.
You can win or lose the game all by yourself.
You all right?p
-Yeah. You got a pen? -Oh, yeah.
Want you to do me a favor.
I want you to give this to Wheeler's nephew.
His nephew?
Yeah, that kid in the clubhouse.
Three more! Come on!k
Nothing drops out there!
Jesus Christ.
Billy Chapel is 40 years old...
...as he sits in the dugout here at Yankee Stadium.
40 years old, arm weary and aching.
And don't let anybody tell you or Billy...
...that life begins at 40.
4,100 innings Billy Chapel has walked to the mound...
...in a brilliant 19-year career.
But never before in all those years...
...and in all those innings has he ever had a date with destiny...
...as he has right now.
He will make the fateful walk to the loneliest spot in the world...
...he pitching mound at Yankee Stadium...
...in quest of the pitcher's dream, the perfect game.
Billy Chapel, in quest of the perfect game.
You also realize he may very well be at the crossroads of a brilliant career.
He's a cinch to wind up in the Hall of Fame.
However, after this game he has to make the big decision.
A: Will he continue to do what has been his life...
...maybe more important than life itself: baseball?
Or will he hang it up, and would a perfect game...
...ive him the logical conclusion to the great career?
Strout.
You're hitting for Ruiz. Grab a bat.
At 40 years old, Billy Chapel is flirting...
...with perhaps the greatest accomplishment in baseball.
And standing in his way will be Matt Crane...
...hitting for Babe Nardini, then Jesus Cabrillo.
And Ken Strout has a bat in his hands in the dugout...
...and might very well get the call to bat for Jaime Ruiz.
And you know, Steve, you get the feeling that Billy Chapel...
...isn't pitching against left-handers, isn't pitching against pinch-hitters...
...he isn't pitching against the Yankees.
He's pitching against time.
He's pitching against the future, against age...
...and even when you think about his career, against ending.
And tonight, I think he might be able...
...to use that aching old arm one more time...
...to push the sun back up in the sky...
...and give us one more day of summer..
Lord...
...l know I always said I'd never involve You in a baseball game.
It always seemed silly.
I mean, You got enough to do..
But if there's any way You could make this pain in my shoulder go away...
...for about 10 minutes....
Clear the mechanism.
Clear the mechanism..
Three more.
Like I done a million times.
It's so tough to come off the bench, watch eight innings ofplay...
...and then go up there cold, and try and swing the bat.
But ifyou don't get your pitch and hack at it early...
...you might not see another one.
Matt Crane poses quite a threat...
...especially now when Billy has to be on the ropes.
No, Gus. A curve would hurt too much.
Ground ball to the right side, smothered back at third base...
...by Lee Giordano and throws him out.
That would be another brilliant play.
Look at this. I'm talking about tremendous.
No! He beat it!!
Two more outs to go, and here's Jesus Cabrillo...
...who struck out and flied to center.
It's been over 40 years that I sat at Yankee Stadium....
...and broadcast the perfect game...
...by Don Larson in the World Series.
And now, I never thought I'd be able to see another one...
...especially from a 40-year-old pitcher...
...who may very well be at the end of his career.
Goddamn it, Gus, just hold it over the middle of the plate.
I'm throwing straight shit right now.
Big swing. And the count: 0 and 1.
What are you swinging at? It was a ball! This guy's a bum!
There's a drive down the line.
Foul. What a scramble up there.
What used to bejust a souvenir...
...might very well turn out to be a very valuable baseball.
Yeah, I know, I'm stalling.
Everybody knows I'm stalling.
Maybe you'd be stalling, too.
And there's a strike three called.
Billy Chapel striking out Jesus Cabrillo...
...for his ninth strikeout.
And he is one out away from the perfect game..
-Wreck it. -All right, skip.
On deck is young Ken Strout...
...who will take his swings for Jaime Ruiz.
Batting for Ruiz...
...Number 60, Ken Strout.
Why not?i
I think this is a great move by Bobby Mack...
...the Yankee skipper, sending a kid up.
Ken Strout. His first major league at bat.
He'sjust young enough and cocky enough...
...to not realize the magnitude of the situation he's in.
There's a line drive down the right field line!
Hooking foul!,
And that was too close for comfort for the Tigers...
...and for Billy Chapel.
I don't scare you at all, do l?
Guess you forgot who I am.
Think, Billy, don't just throw.
Think.
No, curveball's for shit. He knows it. I know it.
He knows it.,
This is gonna hurt a little bit.
-Strike two! -What's that old line?
"Ifyou can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs...
"...you don't understand the situation. "
That's Kenny Strout right now as he takes another strike.
And the count is 0 and 2.
But with a weary body and, no doubt, a sore arm...
...now this big crowd, over 56,000...
...rooting for Billy Chapel to do the near impossible.
It's either gonna be your night, kid, or mine..
Will this be the last pitch of the game?
Will this be the last pitch in Billy Chapel's life?
Will it be the end of his brilliant major-league career?
And, if so, what a high note.
0 and 2 the count to Kenny Strout.
Come on, Billy.
High bouncer! Off the glove of Chapel!
-He's out! -He has done it!
Billy Chapel has pitched a perfect game!
The cathedral that is Yankee Stadium...
...belongs to a Chapel!!
He was safe!
Nice job, Chapel. Got to give it to you.
Nice job. Come on, perfect game.
I told you, Billy! Didn't I tell you?
History, man!
You're the cream in my coffee..
That's okay.
You didn't know. This is good right here.
I'll just stay right here. This is a good spot.
Wait. I got to make a phone call.
Where are we? All right.
You need anything?
Some water.
Thank you, Chappie.
No problem.
Not for the water..
I know..
Hello. You've reached the hotel message center.
There are no new messages.
Thank you for using the hotel message center. Good-bye.
I thought you had already gone.
I missed my plane. I had to stay at the airport hotel.
Missed your plane?
There was this ball game on.
You saw it?
With a bunch of Yankee fans.
Grown men crying.
It was...
...perfect.
Heather saw it, too. I called her at school.
We were both so proud of you.
What are you doing here?
I was on my way to England.
Why?a
Because you're there.
God, l....
I thought I'd have an ocean to think about what I wanted to say...
...what I needed to say.
-You don't need to-- -Yes, l....
I used to believe.... I mean, I still do...
...that if you give something your all, everything you have...
...it doesn't matter if you win or lose...
...as long as you risked everything, put everything out there.
And I've done that.
I did it in my life. I did it with the game.
But not with you.
I never gave you that.
And I'm sorry.
I have to go.
-I've already missed my plane once. -I know. Listen.
I know I'm on really thin ice here...
...but when you said that I didn't need you....
Well, last night...
...that should have been the biggest night of my life.
It wasn't.
It wasn't because...
...you weren't there.
So I just wanted to tell you...
...not to change your mind or keep you from going...
...just so that you know...
...hat I know...
...that I need you.
I love you, Jane.
I never believed it.
Believe it.