Last night’s blown call by umpire Jim Joyce, which took away Armando Galarraga’s perfect game, will be talked about for years, by bitter Tiger fans crying about how their team can’t get a break, and paranoids and conspiracy fans everywhere.
But I’ve argued before that baseball is filled with human error (hell, if there’s a statistic for “Errors”. then it must be a big part of the game). I’m not too much in favor of the instant replay, though it seems to have been integrated well into the action. My heart wants Galarraga to get credit for his efforts, but my head says that it is what it is. I can’t start changing my attitude just because a Tiger was involved, and just because the umpire got the yips and got confused about THE ONLY THING HE’S GOT TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHEN HE’S WORKING ON FIRST BASE!!!!!!
Ahem. Sorry.
I was frankly impressed with both the player and the umpire this morning. How many people in public life, caught in a big mistake, just come out and say it was their fault, and that their decision will haunt them the rest of their lives? (When was the last time you heard a politician or a CEO, our national “leaders”, say such a thing, at least when it still mattered?)
And how many players showed Galarraga’s grace and character in the face of a crushing disappointment? My hat’s off to him.
Here’s a little piece of doggerel I whipped up for the brouhaha on Bardball this morning, hoping to earn points for timeliness if not :
Nobody’s Perfect
After the call that the umpire blew,
What could Armando Galarraga do?Drag him to court in front of a judge,
Since now his market value was smudged?Argue some kind of liberal plot?
Threaten to meet Joyce in the parking lot?Hire a hit man to mangle his mug?
Break down on “Oprah” to get some O-hugs?Threaten his wife, kids, brothers and sisters?
Publish his home phone number on Twitter?Beg ol’ Bud Selig for some Commissioner’s magic?
Hire some flacks for his story so tragic?Buy off some pols to rewrite the rules?
Sic Milton Bradley on his family jewels?But Armando showed character larger than fame.
He smiled, shook hands and went on with the game.