Thursday, May 6, 2010
May 5 11:20 A.M.
Having occurred only 16 times since the modern baseball era began in 1900, pitching a perfect game is among the rarest feats in sports. It's the Holy Grail for pitchers, earning them a one-way ticket to sports immortality and a permanent spot in the history books.
But for 24-year-old Wade McGilberry, there was a more, uh, practical motivation: $1 million, which is exactly how much the Alabama man just won for throwing a perfect game in MLB 2K10 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
"It was actually my wife who convinced me to go for it," he said in a statement. "I never thought I'd actually win a million dollars playing a video game, it's all still sinking in for me."
The prize is the culmination of 2K Sports' Perfect Game competition, which ran from March 2 to May 1. Gamers were required to play the game's MLB Today mode and select the "MLB 2K10 contest," which automatically defaults to the correct gameplay settings to ensure an even playing field. While McGilberry might not have been the only player to throw a perfect game, he was the first, earning the unprecedented million-dollar prize by tossing perfection on the very first day of competition.
McGilberry was presented with an oversized check at his home.
"The game itself was fantastic -- I'm glad I bought it either way -- but I have to say, this is a nice return on my investment," he said.
Considering the game retails for $49.99, that's a return of about $999,950.01. Nice indeed.
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