MLB2K11 - (My son's PS3 game)

I knew about the MLB2K11 contest (which began on April 1, 2011), that if someone threw a perfect game while playing MLB2K11 (whether it be via PS3, Wii, X-Box…etc) that person would win a cool million dollars.  I had no idea if anyone had actually won it, because I hadn’t heard.  So when I was perusing the Phillies website, I was surprised to see a write up about a guy who had won it back in April of 2011.  Which is awesome but what made it even sweeter, is that the winner who resides in Louisiana, and who was not even a baseball fan, became a fan thanks to the game and a Phillies fan to boot.

The winner, Brian Kingrey, a music teacher, did tons of research on the Internet, learning baseball statistics and all about baseball in general. And through that research he realized by using right-handed pitcher Roy Halladay, who had thrown a perfect game in 2010, was the smart route to go.

“I had to actually learn the game if I was going to play,” Kingrey said. “I started learning about batters, batting averages, different kinds of pitches. I’d research, play for five hours, eat, sleep and then repeat for 2 weeks.” – Phillies.com

Kingrey’s sole mission was to play MLB2K11 until he threw that rare perfect game.  And on April 1, 2011, that became a reality. Kingrey played three games and it was the third game that he hit the jackpot.  With Halladay as his pitcher, the chosen opponent was the Houston Astros.

He (Halladay) said that even he was impressed by how Kingrey picked up the subtleties of pitching and how he won big.  “It’s not easy,” Halladay said. “I think it would take me more than five hours a day for two weeks to come anywhere close to that.” - Phillies.com

Click image to view video - MLB.com

Can’t say I’ve ever played the game myself, but have watched my son play it.  And it doesn’t look easy, at all!!!  So I give Kingrey major kudos on his accomplishment.

Video courtesy of:  MLB.com