I've been witness to some extremely bad calls by MLB umpires recently, but this has gotta be one of the worst ive ever seen. Thank goodness my Mets didn't get screwed this time, but i feel really bad for this kid.
Heres the story:
Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning when a blown call prevented him from making history.
Indians hitter Jason Donald reached first base on an infield single. Detroit disputed the call and replays later showed that Donald was out.
Galarraga's perfect game would have been the third this season and the second in just a matter of days after Roy Halladay was perfect against the Marlins on Saturday.
Donald hit a bouncer that first baseman Miguel Cabrera cleanly fielded to his right. He took his time and made an accurate throw to Galarraga covering the bag.
The ball appeared to be in Galarraga's glove just before Donald made it to first base, replays indicated.
Galarraga quickly retired Trevor Crowe for the one-hit shutout after losing out on history.
A few notes from the game that I noticed myself:
First of all, I am unfamiliar with this pitcher (I'm an NL guy). However, watching him behave with the utmost class during this 9th inning, I'm now a fan. This is a life-changing mistake by the umpire Jim Joyce, one that could actually cost Galarraga million$ in the long run (Pitchers who throw no-hitters get multimillion dollar contracts. Those that don't may or may not). When Joyce emphatically called the runner safe, ending Galarraga's perfect-game bid, the pitcher just smiled a big smile & walked back to the mound. No yelling, no crying, no arguing, no fighting. Classy. I like this guy.
Secondly, veteran umpire Jim Joyce, who blew the call, is a stand-up guy. After the game, after viewing replays of the blown call, he actually apologized to Galarraga personally. That's refreshing as well.
It doesn't excuse the mistake, i know. But both of these men have dealt with this with such class & respect that I think it will help the league get past this horrendous error. As I stated earlier in this post, I have been dismayed many, many times because of terrible calls by these professional umpires, only to have them make it even worse by ejecting the players & managers for arguing the blown calls.
For myself, this has done it. Usually old-school & traditionalist, I have had enough. I am now interested in implementing computerized umpiring wherever possible. If ESPN can show us digitally EXACTLY where a pitch is, can't we utilize that technology within the game itself?
Umpire Jim Joyce made an error, came clean & should be forgiven. But I've seen way too many arrogant umps with a chip on their shoulder looking for a fight, after THEY messed up the game. I understand that at home we see WAY more much slower than these guys do. But c'mon, these guys have been REALLY, REALLY bad the last few years. At least once a game I see blown calls.
Congratulations to Armando Galarraga for pitching a perfect game, even if the books will never show it.
