Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was chasing a perfect game Wednesday. He had retired the first 26 Cleveland Indians he had faced, and the 27th batter, Jason Donald, hit a ball down the first base line. Miguel Cabrera, fielded it and tossed to Galarraga, whose touched the bag first. Perfect game? Nope. “Safe,” yelled umpire Jim Joyce. (Pictoral evidence here).
Except Joyce was wrong. Replays clearly showed that Donald was out, and a crestfallen Joyce admitted after that he blew the call.
“I just cost that kid a perfect game,” he said. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.”
Said Gallaraga: “I don’t know what to say.”
This has already increased calls for baseball to expand its minimal use of instant replays and it’s long overdue. Everyone makes mistakes, but replay can at least minimize their impact.
Baseball is still years behind football and other sports, which have seen that replay only helps, not hurts, the game. Trying telling Gallaraga and the Tigers that baseball tradition needs to be preserved.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 4:15 AM
The problem with replay in this situation is that it could really slow down the game.
For every close call will there be a need for replay?
Granted you could go football style and have challenge flags or something…
In a situation like this – knowing full well that history is on the verge of being made – Joyce should have given the benefit of the doubt to the pitcher.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 6:18 AM
It’s a shame.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 7:50 AM
At the end of the day, both player and umpire exhibited graciousness rarely seen in these contentious times.
Lessons to be learned in great sportsmanship.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 8:33 AM
Enigma, if baseball gave a rat’s ass about the length of games, they’d clamp down on the real problems….the limitless throws to first base to hold the runner, the batter stepping out of the box after every pitch to adjust his gloves, the ridiculous frequency of pitching changes, the overly long period between innings. And I’d think that the owners would be okay with games being longer…more time for fans to pay for concessions.
Give each manager two challenges per nine innings. Unlike the NFL, you don’t get to keep it even if you’re right. And leave it to someone in a booth, not to the umpires on the field, to review the play. We’re talking about adding maybe 10 minutes.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 8:40 AM
is it just me? or does the officiating in pro sports get worse every season? i understand the need for older, experienced referees and umpires in sports, but please… some of these guys are old n fat and obviously blind.. too many missed calls, or blown calls and to many officials determining the outcome of games by making bad calls at crucial times.. calls that should not be made… hey referee/umpire dude, its not about you…. its about the players, and money, and product placement and money… and instant replay… did i say it was about money?
- cheers.. david
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 9:41 AM
Jim Joyce should be sat down for a few weeks or demoted to the minors just like they do in the NFL. Remember that ref who screwed up the toin coss at the start of an NFL game? He was demoted to Side Judge after that.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 10:55 AM
The devil with replay is in the details. When do you use it and when not? How? Are we going to have three umpires running off the field every inning or so to look at the monitor? A replay official in the booth? We already have four hour games.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 10:56 AM
David- it’s just you. Calls were always blown. The difference in the old days was there was no replay so who could prove it?
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 3:06 PM
I think each team should be allowed one or two challenges on safe/out calls. So you may see one or two replay rulings a game that may add 3-4 minutes to the length of a game – if done right.
And at the same time I would enforce the rules that are there to speed up the game. I swear the Red Sox and Yankees seem to be the worst offenders to me – as almost anytime I’ve gone to one of their games here in Toronto – the game seems to last 3 – 3.5 hours for a 9 inning game – whereas almost any other Jays games I go to are generally over in about 2.5 hours.
The NHL managed to speed up their games following the the positive comments about the ‘fast’ games in the 2002 Olympics – and a typical 3 period game is now over in about 2.5 hours, whereas they were often dragging out to 3 hours or longer before they sped up the faceoffs and made other changes to speed up the game. Surely baseball can do the same.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 3:45 PM
If this isnt the Worst Play in Major League Baseball history im not sure was is LOL…
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 7:45 PM
I’m thinking Joyce’s call should be overturned and the perfect game awarded to Gallaragga.
Really, what’s the hurt here? The standings don’t change, just one man gets a hit taken out of his stats.
Setting a predence? Perhaps, yet I highly doubt it. George Brett’s “pine tar” home run was taken away, then handed back to him later with the game completed. That was 27 years ago, and nothing like that has taken place since then. Certainly no precedent setting moment there….
No reason why they can’t reverse the Joyce’s call either. It sets everything right, and exonerates Joyce, who won’t have to live with being “that umpire who wrecked the perfect game”.
You’ll never see this happen again under these exact circumstances. So do the right thing.
on Jun 3rd, 2010 at 10:24 PM
The pine tar incident was a rule interpretation, not a judgment call. If one judgment call can be reversed, there are many others that can be reversed as well. How many games will have to be re-started because those calls happened in the 5th inning instead of being the final out of the game?
on Jun 4th, 2010 at 6:29 PM
Today’s high tech mobile TV Studio/Truck would make review of calls extremely easy.
I volunteer for a local TV station and we clearly see from various angles what’s going on down on the the field.
TV personnel would think it’s an honor to help out, and it would be so easy. All they have to do is ask!
on Jun 4th, 2010 at 7:03 PM
Actually, on second thought, in this case it was pretty cool that umpire Jim Joyce has the balls to admit when he made a mistake. I’m kinda glad the outcome didn’t change because of replays.
The heartfelt tearful apology he made to the pitcher is priceless! And the pitcher still got a Corvette. Poor guy.