Kristan Humber didn’t break a sweat until the eighth inning.
Her husband had taken a one-hitter into the sixth once before, so she felt pleased in the seventh that he broke his own record.
She watched on TV, enormously pregnant from her sofa in Chicago as the eighth came and went in Seattle: Philip Humber was still perfect for his White Sox.
Then came sweaty outs of the ninth, three balls Humber turned into a strikeout; a fly ball made for two.
A dramatic dropped third strike tossed in time to first base crowned number 41 Philip Humber number 21 in baseball history: A perfect game.
“I’m so excited to be having a baby,” said his 27-year-old wife. “I can’t believe I wasn’t there to witness it in person. It only could be better if it had been in front of the White Sox fans in Chicago.”
Her husband called right away from the festive aftermath because Philip Humber needed to know something: “Did he [the baby] give you contractions? Are you OK?” Her reply: “I’m perfectly fine.”
The birth of the couple’s first child, John Gregory Humber, is only weeks away. She’s due May 8. And doctors tell his mother he’s got long legs like his father.
The Humbers, both from small Texas towns, married in November 2007. Mutual friends set them up in 2005. Those friends were apparently right when they thought the two should meet, because love progressed quickly.
“When you know, you know,” said Kristan Humber. “I told my parents, ‘This is the one I’m going to marry.’ ”
Philip Humber had been drafted by the Mets in 2004 as a very promising pitcher but still played in the minors. He bounced from team to team. But he remained determined, his wife said.
“He’s one that is easy to root for,” she said. “He’s humble. He works his tail off. I think he deserves everything that’s going to come his way. I’m just proud to be the one next to him.”
Last year, the Sox picked him up. The Humbers planned to wait another few years to start a family. But plans change.
“Obviously God has his own timing,” the mother-to-be said.
So they’ll raise their son in Chicago, surrounded by his father’s dedicated fans. “I couldn’t love [Chicago] more, if I’m not going to be home in Texas,” she said.
And with any luck, she added, the baby will arrive during a Sox homestand.
