Ex-Giant Matt Cain reveals when he realized he'd thrown perfect game

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Matt Cain knew he had done something special on June 13, 2012.

But the Giants starter had no idea he had just accomplished something that no one in the franchise's storied history had done.

With NBC Sports Bay Area airing Cain's perfect game at 7 p.m.  PT Sunday night, Amy Gutierrez called for fans to send questions and she relayed them in-person to Cain.

One fan wanted to know when Cain realized he hadn't allowed anyone to reach first base, and he revealed he didn't know he had thrown a perfect game when he was celebrating with his teammates.

"I knew that I hadn't given up a hit early in the game, whether it was the third or fourth inning," Cain said. "But you [Amy G] were the one that told me it was a perfect game. I had never thought about that. That was never really on my radar and there's so few of them that it's not something you dream about having as a kid. So I was always really thinking, 'Hey, I'd love to throw a no-hitter.'

"And then all of a sudden, you dropped that on me in the dugout and sometimes it's still startling and overwhelming to think that it happened."

While the Giants have had a number of pitchers in recent history throw no-hitters, Cain still is the only one with a perfect game, and it's a feat he cherishes.

[RELATED: Cain's perfect game was 'North Star' for Giants' dynasty]

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"It's still an honor just to think that we hadn't had one in the history of the Giants," Cain said.

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