per·fec·tion - the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects.
A perfect game in Major League Baseball is a victory by a pitcher (or combination of pitchers) that lasts a minimum of nine innings with no batter reaching first base. To achieve a perfect game, a team must not allow any opposing player to reach base by any means: no hits, walks, hit batsmen, uncaught third strikes, catcher's or fielder's interference, or fielding errors; in short, "27 up, 27 down" (for a nine-inning game). Over the 150 years of Major League Baseball history, and over 218,500 games, there have only been 23 official perfect games.
For one game, everything works (at least for the winning team) the way it should, starting with the supreme confidence and control of the pitcher, and his catcher who calls a perfect game, and his teammates who defend their territory without blemish, through nine innings of baseball. 27 outs. Perfection, flawless execution by everyone who was part of that winning effort. An experience that most people can only dream about. Where every decision is correct, there is no second-guessing, no mistakes in the execution, where the universe and humanity align to create a rare moment in time, perfection.
But what happens when you are one mistake from perfection?