On June 2nd 2010, Armando Galarraga pitched 8.2 innings of perfect baseball only to give a "hit" to second to last batter he faced. On the box score, it seems unlucky for a pitcher to go the distance only to allow one hit at the last out--but by watching the game, there is no doubt that Galarraga is the 21st perfect game pitcher.
Umpire Jim Joyce called ninth-spot batter Jason Donald safe on a soft grounder to first--which forced Galarraga to cover first base. Galarraga did in fact cover first base and beat Donald out at first by a step to secure his spot in baseball history. Unfortunately, his spot in baseball legacy was stolen by the 1st Base Umpire Joyce.
Joyce called Donald safe; and umpires make mistakes, but to have a missed call on the last out of the game where a pitcher is supposed to have a perfect game is an error that simply cannot happen.
Joyce has been the umpire for more than twenty years and has been the umpire for All-Star games and even World Series. Less than an hour after the game, I looked up his name on Wikipedia and saw a subtopic of "Controversial Call," describing the occurrences that took place today.
He might have been one of the league's finest umpires, but this call will not only tarnish his reputation but hopefully will restrict him from umpiring and major baseball events such as the playoffs. Firing such a known umpire is implausible, but a perfect game is a greater rarity.
After the game, Joyce admitted that he blew the call--claiming that he believed he saw the play correctly. He also acknowledged how it was the biggest call of his life--but it was also the biggest call of Galarraga's life.
The umpiring this season has been sub-par at the very least. Between the balk-arama with Ozzie and Mark, the first balk-off walk-off since 1989, and let's not forget Madden's blow up over the Phantom call. The umpires have been well below flawless and well above tempered this season. Ejections have been delivered more this season than UPS packages, and what is the Major League to do?
Major League Baseball has told the Blue's all over the league to quicken the pace of the game but not to practice their omniscience.
But I digress; back to Galarraga, he pitched 9.0 innings, 0 walks, 3 K's, and gave up 0 hits***. Great job Galarraga and although the MLB does not practice reversing calls; I hope they make an exception. Congratulations. You pitched a Perfect Game.
No comments:
Post a Comment