Leave the Game Perfectly Imperfect

 Did I mention I am a former Little League pitcher, umpire and coach, and that I was a high school and college basketball official for 17 years? Those experiences, despite the vast difference in the level of competition, allow me to feel the pain of the Detroit Tiger’s pitcher Armando Galarraga and Major League Umpire Jim Joyce after Joyce blew the call that meant Galarraga’s perfect game was ruined with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Wednesday night.

It is always the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs for every kid that has ever played baseball when he dreams about winning THE GAME with some heroic effort. Conversely, it is every sports official’s nightmare to blow a call that makes the difference in the outcome of THE GAME. Of course, THE GAME is the most important game imaginable to the dreamer.

In this instance, THE GAME was potentially one which had happened only 20 times before in the modern era of major league baseball – a perfect game, meaning the pitcher’s opposing team gets no runs, no hits, no walks and no runners are allowed on base due to a fielding error. 27 up and 27 down in 9 innings. The intensity of such a game is unlike any other, especially in the last inning, when the pressure on getting the last out with the perfect game intact is akin to performing brain surgery, or catching a baby thrown from the third-floor window of a burning building (both of which I’ve done, of course).

Unfortunately, Galarraga’s dream was dashed and Joyce’s nightmare came to life last night. The slow motion replay clearly shows the third out was made. Joyce has admitted to blowing the call, and to his credit, Galarraga has accepted the outcome gracefully, even making efforts to console Joyce who was visibly distraught as he took his place behind the plate at the beginning of Thursday's game between the same two teams. Many, especially in Detroit, have cried foul and called upon Commissioner Bud Selig to reverse the call. He didn’t and in my opinion, shouldn’t.

The rules currently do not allow slow-motion replay reviews to reverse these types of calls. This rule needs to be reviewed, but with care so as to not completely take the human element away from the game. Umpires make mistakes, as do players. It’s part of the game. Only great players, and umpires, make it to the big leagues. If they don’t perform up to par, they don’t get to stay. It is painful that this blown call was made at the moment it happened, when so much was at stake. But as the saying goes, that’s baseball – meaning almost anything can happen at any time, which makes the game (and especially THE GAME) so special.