Blown call robs pitcher of perfection
Source: Agencies |
June 4, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
IT will go down as one of the worst umpiring calls in baseball history - Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game on Wednesday just as he thought he'd completed one of the game's rarest feats.
With two outs in the ninth, and Galarraga not having allowed a single Cleveland Indians player to reach even first base, he needed only one more out to complete the 21st ever perfect game in the US major leagues.
Cleveland's Jason Donald hit a groundball to the area between first and second base. Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded it, and tossed it to Galarraga, who'd dashed over to first base to complete the out. Galarraga squeezed the ball in his mitt, stepped on first base with his right foot and was ready to celebrate.
What happened next will be the talk of baseball for the rest of this season and likely a lot longer: the perfect game that wasn't.
Umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Donald safe, the Tigers argued and a chorus of groans and boos echoed in Comerica Park.
Then Joyce emphatically said he was wrong and later, in tears, hugged Galarraga and apologized.
"It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it," Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires' locker room.
"I just cost that kid a perfect game."
"I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay," he said after the Tigers' 3-0 win.
Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said Joyce asked to speak with Galarraga.
Denied the first perfect game in Tigers history, Galarraga appreciated the gesture.
"You don't see an umpire after the game come out and say, 'Hey, let me tell you I'm sorry'," Galarraga said. "He felt really bad. He didn't even shower."
It's rare for an umpire to acknowledge a mistake and, in one of the few sports that relies heavily on the human eye, it's certain to prompt a push for Major League Baseball to expand its use of replays.
"I feel sad," Galarraga said. "I just watched the replay 20 times and there's no way you can call him safe."
As it stands, baseball replays can only be used for questionable home runs. There's no appealing an umpire's judgment call, either by replay or protest.
While the feat of a perfect game is rare, Galarraga's would have been the third in just a month. Philadelphia's Roy Halladay and Oakland's Dallas Braden wrote themselves into their own slice of history, because until this year, there had never even been two perfect games in the same season in the modern era, let alone the same month.
Galarraga was almost a most unlikely star. The 28-year-old native of Venezuela was recalled from the minor leagues on May 16 after pitching poorly during spring training, losing out in a competition for the final spot in the Tigers rotation.
Elsewhere in the American League, it was: Yankees 9, Orioles 1; Rays 7, Blue Jays 3; Red Sox 6, Athletics 4; Angels 7, Royals 2; Rangers 9, White Sox 5; and Mariners 2, Twins 1 (in 10 innings).
In the National League, it was: Braves 2, Phillies 1; Dodgers 1, Diamondbacks 0 (in 14 innings); Padres 5, Mets 1 (in 11 innings); Brewers 7, Marlins 4; Astros 5, Nationals 1; Cardinals 4, Reds 1; and Giants 4, Rockies 1.
With two outs in the ninth, and Galarraga not having allowed a single Cleveland Indians player to reach even first base, he needed only one more out to complete the 21st ever perfect game in the US major leagues.
Cleveland's Jason Donald hit a groundball to the area between first and second base. Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded it, and tossed it to Galarraga, who'd dashed over to first base to complete the out. Galarraga squeezed the ball in his mitt, stepped on first base with his right foot and was ready to celebrate.
What happened next will be the talk of baseball for the rest of this season and likely a lot longer: the perfect game that wasn't.
Umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Donald safe, the Tigers argued and a chorus of groans and boos echoed in Comerica Park.
Then Joyce emphatically said he was wrong and later, in tears, hugged Galarraga and apologized.
"It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it," Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires' locker room.
"I just cost that kid a perfect game."
"I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay," he said after the Tigers' 3-0 win.
Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said Joyce asked to speak with Galarraga.
Denied the first perfect game in Tigers history, Galarraga appreciated the gesture.
"You don't see an umpire after the game come out and say, 'Hey, let me tell you I'm sorry'," Galarraga said. "He felt really bad. He didn't even shower."
It's rare for an umpire to acknowledge a mistake and, in one of the few sports that relies heavily on the human eye, it's certain to prompt a push for Major League Baseball to expand its use of replays.
"I feel sad," Galarraga said. "I just watched the replay 20 times and there's no way you can call him safe."
As it stands, baseball replays can only be used for questionable home runs. There's no appealing an umpire's judgment call, either by replay or protest.
While the feat of a perfect game is rare, Galarraga's would have been the third in just a month. Philadelphia's Roy Halladay and Oakland's Dallas Braden wrote themselves into their own slice of history, because until this year, there had never even been two perfect games in the same season in the modern era, let alone the same month.
Galarraga was almost a most unlikely star. The 28-year-old native of Venezuela was recalled from the minor leagues on May 16 after pitching poorly during spring training, losing out in a competition for the final spot in the Tigers rotation.
Elsewhere in the American League, it was: Yankees 9, Orioles 1; Rays 7, Blue Jays 3; Red Sox 6, Athletics 4; Angels 7, Royals 2; Rangers 9, White Sox 5; and Mariners 2, Twins 1 (in 10 innings).
In the National League, it was: Braves 2, Phillies 1; Dodgers 1, Diamondbacks 0 (in 14 innings); Padres 5, Mets 1 (in 11 innings); Brewers 7, Marlins 4; Astros 5, Nationals 1; Cardinals 4, Reds 1; and Giants 4, Rockies 1.
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