Rick Forney: Mr. Perfect

Only one perfect game has been thrown in the Baysox 23-year franchise history. Rick Forney pitched that seven-inning perfect game on Saturday, July 30, 1994 in Game 2 of a doubleheader against the Trenton Thunder. After losing the first game 3-2, Forney's perfect night helped lead the Baysox to an 8-0 Game 2 win. Forney, who is now in his 11^th year managing the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the American Association, recently talked with BayWatch about his memories from the Baysox historic 1994 season and that special night.

"…I remember warming up for the second game," Forney said. "Traditionally speaking, I didn't like to warm up very long. I liked to spend about 10-15 minutes down there before the start of a game. But I remember throwing so poorly in the bullpen before the game that I wound up throwing for like 20 minutes. Finally, I just got so frustrated that I left the bullpen. I said, 'You know what, let's get started because this isn't getting any better down here in the bullpen.' And what happened, and I really don't know, once that game started, everything worked out for me. I had good command of all my pitches."

Forney, who was born in Annapolis, was selected by his hometown Orioles in the 26^th Round of the 1991 Draft after playing two years at Anne Arundel Community College. The experience of being drafted by the team he used to watch at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore as a kid was a positive one for the pitcher.

"I didn't know if the Orioles were going to draft me or not," Forney said. "I mean, there were a number of teams that were expressing interest, and you never know what's going to happen with the draft. But I remember getting that call. Jim Gilbert, he was the mid-Atlantic scout at the time, and he just said, 'Hey listen, we drafted you.' I was just happy to be drafted, but it just made it better that it was with a local team that I grew up watching going to Memorial Stadium, so it was pretty exciting."

After being drafted, the righty began his climb through the Orioles organizational ladder, making his Double-A debut late in the Baysox inaugural 1993 season after spending most of the year with High-A Frederick.

"My first taste of Bowie was 1993, when they were playing at Memorial Stadium," Forney said. "The Orioles had sent me to Frederick to start the season, and we had a preseason game against the Baysox at old Memorial Stadium. And I remember going to Orioles games at old Memorial Stadium as a young kid, you know, and getting a chance to be there for that preseason game. I thought it was just the coolest thing in the world that we were playing the Baysox in Memorial Stadium. I didn't get to pitch that day, but nonetheless I had a great time being in the ballpark and thought, 'Wow this was a great experience getting to play a Double-A season in a big league ballpark.'"

Forney was part of a unique Baysox club in 1994. For the first half of the season, the team did not have a home field as Prince George's Stadium had not been completed, but despite that challenge, the team set a franchise record that stands today with 84 wins.

"In '94 we were good, man," Forney said. "We had some really good starting pitching. The backend of our bullpen was just lights out. Armando Benitez was our closer. [Joe] Borowski was the eighth-inning guy. Those were two guys that saved a lot of innings in the big leagues. Curtis Goodwin was just a dynamic player in center field -- scored a lot of runs, stole a lot of bases, ran down all kinds of balls in the outfield. Alex Ochoa, Scott McClain ... just an amazing team."

The ballpark finally opened on June 16, 1994 with the Baysox defeating the Binghamton Mets 14-6 in front of a crowd of 7,142.

"... We were kind of gypsies at the beginning of the season -- playing our home games all over the place," Forney said. "I believe we played at the University of Maryland; we played at the Naval Academy; we played in Frederick; we played in Wilmington, Del. until the ballpark was ready. I was fortunate enough to pitch the very first game in that ballpark against the Binghamton Mets. Just the overall atmosphere and the excitement that was in the ballpark that night was great. It was packed, and you could tell people were excited to have a team to call their own there in Bowie. It was just a fun time."

Even though P.G. Stadium was open for business by June 1994, the stadium was hardly a completed project. There were still pieces missing, making for interesting experiences for the team and fans.

"I remember we had portable trailer club houses down the left-field line," Forney said. "The parking lot wasn't fully paved yet. I remember big thunderstorms rolling through that ballpark and everybody sprinting from the dugout to the trailers back there trying to get in safely and cars being flooded in the parking lot if it rained too hard. Just an exciting time. We had a good ballclub, a lot of fun, just a real positive experience playing in Bowie in '94."

As the 1994 season continued, another of the most memorable moments in Forney's playing career occurred as he pitched his perfect game at Trenton. Even 22 years later, as Forney talks about the game, it is clear he remembers even the smallest details.

"With the exception of one, every ground ball was hit at somebody; every fly ball was hit at somebody," Forney said. "There were some great plays made. Goodwin made a great play in center field on a sinking line drive to keep me alive. McClain, our third baseman, made a backhand play down the third-base line on a tough ground ball."

Forney was so dialed in during his start, that he barely even noticed that he remained perfect through the early part of the game. What he did notice, however, was his teammates acting oddly around him as the game progressed.

"... I didn't really know that later in the ball game guys kind of stayed away from me while I was warming because we all played together for four or five years, and we all talked a lot during the games, but everybody was kind of avoiding me like the plague. And then, you know, by the fourth or fifth inning you realize there's no hits -- I wasn't paying much attention to the walks -- but we were scoring a lot of runs; we were playing a great game and having a lot of fun, and all of a sudden a seriousness kind of takes over after you get through five innings. You realize something could potentially happen here. Just a fun night. Had a lot of things work out for me."

As luck has it, Forney caught a break off the field the night of his perfect game as well, resulting in a VHS tape of his special start recorded by the parents of a teammate who happened to live nearby.

"I was fortunate our shortstop, Kenny Arnold was from New Jersey and his parents came to the ball game, but they set their VCR before they left home, because the game was broadcast live on some main cable feed there. So I was able to get a live recording of that perfect game. They were able to set their VCR and tape that. I was fortunate that they were able to get me a copy of it -- it was great."

Part of the incredible success for Forney and the entire 1994 Baysox squad came from the fact that the core of the team had played together for several years as they worked their way through the Orioles Minor League system. That included Manager Pete Mackanin, who is now in his second season as Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

"I tell you, 1992 we were all pretty much together in A-Ball in Kane County in the Midwest League. We were all 18, 19, 20 years old. Some of us, most of us, it was our first year playing ball. We didn't know what we were doing. We didn't know how to play the game or anything. We didn't have a great season, and a lot of guys didn't have great stats, but we didn't know how to play winning baseball. But in '93 Pete Mackanin was our manager in Frederick, and he really made a difference. He forced us to grow up and pay attention and learn the game. We had some success in '93, and in '94 in Bowie Pete was with us again. He made a big difference for us, so it certainly doesn't surprise me that he's still in baseball managing in the big leagues and doing really well and making a difference in Philadelphia with that roster. Phenomenal manager."

Forney never made it to the Major Leagues, but he was added to the Orioles 40-man roster following the 1994 season so he was able to take part in Major League Spring Training with the Orioles in 1995. That proved to be a great thrill for a player who grew up an Orioles fan.

"Having a chance to progress through the Orioles' system and get to the 40-man roster and actually go to big league spring training and be in the locker room with Cal Ripken [Jr.] and Brady Anderson and Mike Mussina - It was a really exciting time in my life," Forney said.

Following his time in the Orioles organization, Forney caught on with the Independent League Winnipeg Goldeyes in 1997. He spent most of the next four seasons playing for the Northern League team before joining the coaching staff six years later in 2006.

"Independent baseball, I think, just got rolling around '93, '94 with the Northern League," Forney said. "... I was only a year and a half removed from the 40-man roster when I found myself in Indie ball, which is kind of uncommon at the time because I was still pretty young. I was maybe 25 years old. I knew I didn't want to stop playing. I felt like I could still be productive and maybe had a chance at this thing. I wound up going to Winnipeg. ... I just wanted a good place to play and Hal Lanier was the manager. He was calling me, he was pretty persistent. ... Eventually I agreed to do it. I had a good time. It's a good place to play. It's a good environment."

Now managing in Winnipeg, Forney has moved on from the player who threw that perfect game in 1994 to someone who works on developing professional players and helping to give them one more chance at making it to the Major Leagues.

"The energy is good, and I just like independent ball and what it's about," Forney said. "Guys still playing because they're hungry and they want to get another opportunity. Some amazing stories have come out of independent baseball. There's guys in the big leagues right now that were pitching and playing in our league just a few years ago. Some great things happen."

The 2016 Bowie Baysox season is presented by Money One Federal Credit Union. The Baysox 2016 season is underway. Don't miss a minute of the action as the Baysox defend their 2015 Eastern League Championship. Single game tickets are now on sale at www.baysox.com.