DETROIT — Dewayne Wise knows all about historic catches in historic games. So when Wise and The Post stood together late last night at Comerica Park and watched the replay of Mets left fielder Mike Baxter’s seventh-inning catch of Yadier Molina, the Yankees’ reserve outfielder nodded in approval.
Just as Baxter will now be forever known in Mets lore as the man who preserved Johan Santana’s no-hitter against St. Louis at Citi Field — the first in the franchise’s 50-year history — Wise is a hero on the South Side of Chicago because of the catch he made during Mark Buehrle’s perfect game against Tampa Bay on July 23, 2009.
“It’s just unbelievable to be involved in something like that,” Wise told The Post Friday, following the Yankees’ 9-4 victory over the Tigers. “To be the guy who makes the play that so-called saves the game.”
With no outs in the ninth inning at U.S. Cellular Field nearly three years ago, Buehrle started the ninth inning by surrendering a long fly ball to left-centerfield by the Rays’ Gabe Kapler. Wise, a ninth-inning defensive replacement in center field, raced toward the gap, leapt over the wall and caught hold of the ball. He juggled it, nearly losing control, before finally corralling it.
Not a day has gone by since, Wise said, when someone doesn’t bring up his catch in a conversation.
“Every day, somebody is saying something,” Wise said. “Whether it’s at home or on the road, somebody is always saying, ‘Great catch in Mark Buehrle’s perfect game.’ That was 2009, and it’s 2012 now, so for those guys, it’s going to be the same thing. People are always going to remember that.”
ken.davidoff@nypost.com
