Kuzul

Bud Selig is reportedly “very comfortable” with his decision not to award Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga with a perfect game.

Glad we could get that out of the way, Bud.

Professional sports’ most aloof commissioner remains just that.  The other side of his aloofness (you know, aside from arrogance) is that he’s also utterly out of touch with fans.

You remember fans, Bud?  The ones who used to follow baseball before your lockout.  The ones who used to follow baseball before they found out all of their heroes were juicing. 

But, as with the use of performance enhancing drugs, Selig is going in entirely the wrong direction with regards to umpiring and the state of replay

Keep in mind it took an act of Congress, literally, to convince Selig to address PED use.

Now, in the midst of pitching’s recovery from the Steroids Era, we have an umpiring controversy.  And not just any controversy.  No, we’ve got a controversy in which, by Selig’s own admission, the pitcher, umpire, manager, team and fans handled it all in an extremely classy way.

The commissioner, sadly, did not follow suit.

Selig spoke at length in complimenting the way others handled Galarraga’s loss of a perfect game.  I’m certain that was very gracious of him.  Selig also stated his belief that “baseball people” are against the use of replay.

If he meant the same stodgy “baseball people” who wanted to sweep the Steroids Era under the rug or who wanted to keep African-Americans segregated from the majors for as long as possible, he would be right.

The rest of us checked our calendars and it was 2010. 

Selig’s reasoning for not updating the way games are called?  That’s right, people have been complaining about umpires since the 1950s.  He then extended that window to major league baseball’s beginnings in 1865. 

Based on that wonderful logic, I’d imagine the MLB office doen’t employ women.  I mean, why change for change’s sake?

For me, one of the dumbest things about Selig’s comments was that he acknowledged that people have been complaining about umpires for that length of time, but didn’t acknowledge, or even address, that the use of replay would result in a significant reduction in those complaints.

When initially responding to the Galarraga situation, Selig also cited that human error was part of the game.

As long as he is the commissioner, that would appear to be the case.

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For any person involved in professional sports there is often a discussion of what their legacy will be after they leave the sport.  Even players who were never all-stars can leave a legacy as a hard worker, great teammate, or role player.

Some peoples’ legacy can be defined by a single event, such as a great win or a heartbreaking loss.

When it comes to most players, their legacy is defined by their actions from their first game as a rookie to the day they retire.  In most cases this is a relatively short time frame in which to leave a legacy.

On the other hand there is one person in any league that is often given the opportunity to have an impact on multiple generations, and in some cases, change the game—for better or worse—forever.

That person is the commissioner of the league.  One commissioner in particular has added to his legacy in recent days:

Bud Selig.

Selig’s handling of Jim Joyce’s blown call that cost Armando Galarraga his perfect game opened my eyes to exactly what Selig’s legacy will be.

I will forever see Selig as the man who does nothing. 

To prove my point, I will start with present events and work backwards through his time as commissioner.

Selig has pretty much pretended the whole perfect game dispute never happened. He refused to overturn the call and award Galarraga the perfect game he earned because he supposedly doesn’t want to set a precedent.

There is not a single person in the world that thinks Galarraga didn’t pitch a perfect game. Joyce himself feels terrible that he blew the call so badly. 

It is true that the call did not affect the outcome of the game, but righting this terrible wrong would not affect it either. It would simply give a young pitcher the credit he is due. 

He deserves to have his name on the list of perfect game winners, and Selig could fix that, but he didn’t.

Instant replay could have easily righted this wrong as well, but Selig refuses to use that tool to its full extent. 

Even after the plethora of terrible calls in the 2009 postseason, he is still unwilling to let technology aid in the proper calling of games.  He did institute replay for disputed home runs in 2008, which is a step in the right direction, but not a big enough one.

Human error is a part of baseball, and replay would never eliminate that part of the game, nor do I think most close plays should even be reviewed, but these plays that are not even close could easily be righted and no one would complain.

In what will most likely be the single biggest chapter in the Bud Selig era, I will remember how he refused to take action until Congress forced him to.

I am of course referring to the use of performance enhancing drugs in baseball.

It was not until after the 2005 Congressional hearings that Selig helped form the new league policy on PEDs.  This is totally ridiculous as a big chunk of the steroid era started in the ’80s and ’90s.  Not to mention the use of amphetamines in the ’70s, which were also outlawed at this time.

I realize Selig did not become acting commissioner until 1992, and commissioner in 1998, but he was an owner before that time and had to be aware of what was going on in the game. He very easily could have come in and helped to fix the problem before it got totally out of hand.

I realize he had to work with other groups, namely the player’s association, to get stuff like this done, but it would not have been difficult to get the aid of the media, and in turn, the public, had he actually wanted to make something happen.

But he did nothing.

Selig did reinstate George Steinbrenner from his lifetime ban from baseball though he refuses to reinstate Pete Rose, who I feel has paid his debt and belongs in the Hall, but that is a different argument all together.

In comparing other commissioners to Selig I can’t help but keep thinking about Roger Goodell of the NFL.  He has come in and taken action on what can be very controversial subjects.

He has brought the NFL into an era of dominance in the American sports world.  He has disciplined severely, but fairly, while always maintaining the league’s best interests.

He is accepting of new technologies that will further the game, and is willing to make tough decisions when they need to be made, and stands firmly by them when he gets criticized.

There is much more involved with the success of a league than just the commissioner, but while the NFL continues to increase in popularity, Major League Baseball has remained mostly stagnant, if not somewhat worse off after the steroids fallout.

Who knows if Selig will actually retire when his contract is up in 2012, since he didn’t in 2009 contrary to his previous announcement that he would.  All I know is that I hope whenever he does get replaced, his heir will be more willing to take a stand on issues, and really try and make the game better.

Money is often the driving force in these decisions, but it wasn’t money that kept Selig from awarding Galarraga the perfect game that he had earned, it was simply his inability to do anything, even when the decision is an obvious one.

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How Bud Selig Has Simply Ignored Everyone’s Call for Reversal, How America’s Most Troubled City (and everyone else) Has Embraced an Understandable Failure, and How This Has Turned into One of the Better Baseball Stories in American History

First, let’s send a memo out to those who are, or who will be, thrust into the negative national spotlight in the near future.

It contains two simple words.

Man-up.

Act like Jim Joyce.

When you screw up, look at the evidence, admit that you are wrong, and apologize. Of course, a few tears don’t hurt.

Sincerity goes a long way, folks, and Jim Joyce’s simple sincerity has quite possibly saved his future as an umpire.

Ken Burns said it best when he was interviewed by Kieth Olbermann on Thursday. “This is an amazing story, and that’s what I’m interested in. The magnanimity of Galarraga, the sort of honesty and courage of Joyce, everybody sort of coming together, makes it one of those classic human baseball stories.”

This is a fantastic story because of the immediate reactions; the disbelief of the players and fans, the resilience of Joyce, the emotion shown by Armando Galarraga, Jim Leyland, and Miguel Cabrera just after the play—and as the game continued, Cabrera seen jawing at Joyce between every pitch—and finally the pure, honest admittance by Joyce as soon as he saw the replay.

This is a fantastic story because of the immediate aftermath; the media was all over the story, it was headlined by nearly every major news site all through the next night and into Thursday, and still is on MLB.com, ESPN.com, and YAHOO.com Friday morning.

This is a fantastic story because of how it was handled by those directly involved; Jim Joyce seen crying as he accepted the Detroit Tiger’s lineup card from Armando Galarraga, who received a new Corvette courtesy of GM, was recognized by Michigan’s Governor for pitching a perfect game, and through everything has shown no anger or ill will.

Sure, Joyce screwed up.

Big time.

In fact, looking at all of this information over the last day; the blogs, photos, video, and constant headlined coverage over the Internet, I think his decision might have been the biggest blown call of all-time, thanks to the circumstance and the direct impact of the play.

But, if you listen to his comments after the game, how can you blame him? How can you look at him with anger?

You feel his pain and regret just as you feel for Armando Galarraga, a beleaguered pitcher who has never really figured the big leagues out, until Wednesday night, that is.

You feel for the Detroit Tigers, who played their hearts out for their pitcher, and you feel bad for the Detroit fans (hey, I’m one of them) who live in the most troubled city in America; who have battled through company failures (Ford, Chrysler, GM), unemployment spikes (nearly 30 percent in many places and still growing), horrifying crimes (Aiyana Jones ) , corrupt politicians (Kwame Kilpatrick), and national criticism, for the last several years.

When this happened, how could you not think; well, it’s Detroit, Mich. what luck do they have?

We don’t. We have no luck.

I watched the game live on FSN Detroit from the start, and then, began ignoring everything else in my life after the seventh inning. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

Literally. Could. Not. Believe. It.

Here we had a pitcher who really was the last pitcher anyone thought would ever throw a no-hitter, much less a perfect game; we had a team that had lost eight of their last 10 games; we had a game where only 17,738 people showed up on a Wednesday night, after a day of horribly, muggy, rainy weather.

This was not Mother’s Day. This was not a game started by Roy Halladay. In fact, this was not a game that was started by a member of Detroit’s opening day roster.

This was not supposed to happen.

But roughly an hour and a half after the first pitch, Joyce blew the perfect call and what followed is simply going to be etched into sports, and really, American history.

To hear the emotion of Tiger’s color commentator, Rod Allen cry out, “Why is he safe? Oh, my goodness, Jim Joyce, Nooooo, why is he safe?” still sends a shiver down my spine.

To hear Jim Joyce, after he saw the replay, “No I did not get the call correct. I kicked the shit out of it…There’s nobody that feels worse than I do…I just missed the damn call…I took a perfect game away from that kid.”

I want to tell him that it’s okay, I understand. I do.

So do you.

To hear Armando Galarraga, in his broken English, “Nobody’s perfect.” I have to shake my head and wonder how he can act so stoic, with such class, when I, a mere fan who wasn’t even at the ballpark, am seething, when I am so mad at the injustice of human error, at the lack of instant replay, that I can barely form the frustrated words in my head.

Since Jim Joyce isn’t the bad guy, who is?

There has to be one, right? This can’t possibly turn out well for everyone, can it?

No.

And we have Bud Selig to thank for that.

Selig, who in acting in the way he always has, has become the laughing stock of the baseball world because he will not overturn the call.

Yet.

Unlike the NFL and NBA, Major League Baseball and their Big Wigs still use quill pens, work via candlelight, and wear grey wigs as they polish their single-bullet muskets (a.k.a. baseball bats).

In short, baseball doesn’t change very quickly, if it all.

Selig merely promised that they (those quill pen users) will look at expanding instant replay as well as the umpiring crews, going forward.

He thus leaves Jim Joyce as the big-hearted umpire who blew the call in the perfect game, as Major League Baseball’s goat for this whole debacle.

Listen, I understand that in baseball you will rarely change an umpire’s call, if you do that once you are grabbing hold of that piece of thread on a poorly made t-shirt. When you pull, where does it end? At what point do you stop overturning calls that have been blown by human error?

But, it has happened , and in far less direct circumstances, on a far bigger stage. Even if it was 27 years ago.

In this situation, Joyce’s call came on the last play of the game, the final play of a perfect game, and the very next batter bounced out to end the game.

If you award Galarraga the perfect game, nothing really changes; Galarraga would officially throw 83 pitches instead of 88, Trevor Crowe would not be charged with the final at-bat, and Jason Donald would not be awarded the hit (hey, even he admitted: “Yeah, I was out.”).

That’s it, that’s all that changes, and while there would be no on-field celebration, the jubilation would still be there, Galarraga would go down in the record books as the 21^st pitcher to throw a perfect game, and dare I say it, justice would be served.

It would be served because this situation is just different than other blown calls in baseball.

This situation reeks of plausible deniability.

When a murderer confesses to his crime, do we shrug it off and say, “Nah, what happened, happened, you can’t change it now, can you? You can’t take what you did back. Fuggetaboutit.”  No, of course we don’t.

We serve justice.

And in Wednesday night’s case, justice would be served for Jim Joyce.

For Armando Galarraga.

For the Tigers.

For the city of Detroit.

Don’t we, at least, deserve something perfect?

Doesn’t Galarraga?

Joshua Worn   is an editor, journalist, and sportswriter, who spends way too much of his time studying Major League Baseball box scores. He publishes   The Most Interesting Column  on his personal website. Contact him at  thebaseballglutton@comcast.net .

The Day After Reactions:

Official Game Wrap

Official MLB Statement

Yahoo.com

Kevin Kaduk

MLB.com

ESPN.com

Jerry Crasnick

Don Denkinger’s Reaction

Rob Neyer

R.N. Again

Mr. Bloody Sock himself

Jason Stark – Possibly one of the better idea’s out there

Ian O’Conner

Additional Coverage:

Jason Beck – Tigers Beat Writer for MLB.com

Jesse Sanchez – National Writer for MLB.com

Anthony Castrovince – Indians Beat Writer for MLB.com

Peter Gammons – You know who he is

Tom Singer – Writes the MLBlog, Change for a Nickel

Jason Beck – More Stuff

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This article is going to be very short, but I really want to know what everyone thinks about this subject.

I hate to bring this up, but it’s almost impossible for me not to ask this hypothetical question:

What would have happened if the “Not-Perfect Game” was pitched by someone other than Armando Galarraga?

In every sport, superstars are beneficiaries of fortunate calls, as well as retrospective rule changes.

What if it had been someone like Zack Greinke, Greg Maddox, Johan Santana, Randy Johnson, C.C. Sabathia, Roger Clemens, or Tim Lincecum?

I’m not just talking about Jim Joyce’s missed call.

I’m also talking about how Bud Selig handled the situation.

Would Selig have been more inclined to overturn the call if it was a more prominent pitcher on a more popular team?

I think it’s possible.

What do you think?

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It was two seasons ago in a men’s wood bat summer league game. It is a good league, with great competition and many former (and at least one current) major leaguers as alumni.

I was base umpire, situated behind the pitcher’s mound in a two-man team. Man on first, one out, late in a tied game.

Batter hits a ground ball to the hole in short, throw is made to second for the force out, then the relay is made to first.

Bang-bang play, and I signal OUT! Double play and inning over.

There were complaints from the batter/runner and first base coach, the hitting team’s bench (of course); while the other side let out a couple “All Right’s.”  

A few seconds later, after the batter/runner said, “You blew it,” I headed to the fence to take a break before the next inning started.

I had the feeling I blew the call.

One of the fan’s on the fielding teams side said to me, “It looked like he was safe.” I already realized I blew the call, but the fan’s comment cinched my realization.

The funny thing is that I DID see an out. He looked out, and I called him out. I saw the foot of the first baseman on the bag, ball in glove, then the runner hitting the bag.

I did not have the ability to get help from the home plate umpire, because I saw the foot on the bag.

But Jim Joyce did have the option of reversing last night’s call on the field.

Everyone now knows what happened. Armando Galarraga had a perfect game taken from him by Joyce’s bad call at first base. It was the 27th (and final out) of a perfect game, and Galarraga would have been immortalized in baseball history.

Well, actually, funny thing is that Galarraga IS immortalized.

He is the guy who lost a perfect game in a bad way. Not bad by a final hit like Mike Mussina had happen to him in 2001 , or bad like the ninth inning, one-out hit Tom Seaver had happen to him in 1969 . But it was nearly as bad as Milt Pappas’ perfect game bid in 1972 , when Bruce Froemming (like Joyce, another respected umpire) called balls on two straight two-strike, really close pitches.

This is slightly different than the nine inning perfect game Pedro Martinez had with the Montreal Expos in 1995, who then allowed a double leading off the 10th inning of the 0-0 tie game, or Harvey Haddix’ 12-inning perfect masterpiece in 1959.

But what advantage did Joyce have that I didn’t?

He had the option of asking the home plate umpire for help on the call.

Similar to my situation when I realized a couple of seconds afterwards that I probably blew the call, Joyce must have realized that he might have blown his call, too.

Especially when the batter, Jason Donald, had his hands on his head in disbelief.

But in the time it took Jim Leyland to come out on the field to ask about the call (about 21 seconds; I timed it), Joyce could have said to Leyland that he did not see Galarraga’s foot hit the bag.

Then Leyland could have asked for help on the call from the home plate umpire, and Joyce could have gone to ask the home plate umpire if the fielder’s foot was on the bag.

Many times on close plays, the umpire’s view of the foot on the bag can be obstructed, mainly on wide throws, which pull the first baseman off the bag. Sometimes, you can’t see the foot on the bag.

In the photo above, Galarraga’s foot is not yet on the bag.

That is why on close plays where the pitcher has to cover first, the first base umpire moves into foul territory near the first base coaches’ box to see everything up close. That is the correct position.

In this case, because of Joyce’s incorrect vantage point, it could have been that Galarraga’s body “obstructed” Joyce’s view of the foot hitting the bag.

At least that should have been Joyce’s thought process.

Since he was in the incorrect position for that type of play, Joyce needed to think quickly to save himself.

Joyce could have said to the home plate umpire, “I had a catch on the ball, and did not see the fielder’s foot hit the bag. Did you see the foot on the bag?”  

I bet the home plate umpire would have said, “Yes, I had the foot on the bag.”

Runner out, game over, and perfect game intact.

The home plate umpire’s job in that situation is to come out in front of the plate, and watch the bag to see if the fielder touches the bag with his foot. There have been several times I have umpired games where calls have been reversed on the same exact play.

In that situation, Joyce would have been the hero instead of the goat.

He would have made the decision for safe on what he saw, because he has to make an immediate call, but asked for help to get the call right when asked for an appeal by the manager.

The rules are sketchy but that play (especially in that instance) can be appealed when the umpire says his view was obstructed.

Under ML Rule 9.02 (a), it states that any judgment call such as out or safe at a bag is final. But 9.02 (b) states any umpire’s decision that may be in conflict with the rules can be appealed by the manager, who can ask that a correct ruling be made.

That conflict of rules is the sketchy area but is usually granted by teams in tough situations. This includes cases such as missed calls from being out of position, but also includes cases where something might be missed on a play being too quick.

Think check swing and asking for help, or the same thing if a batted ball hits the batter’s foot.

Those types of plays are extremely difficult for a home plate umpire to make an accurate call, and many times, help is needed.

Then 9.02 (c) states that if an appeal is made by the manager, the umpire who made the call has the right to ask for help and gather more information from other umpires. After this new information is presented, only the umpire who made the original call has the authority to reverse that call.

If Jim Joyce was thinking quickly, he could have said he didn’t see the foot hit the bag, got an appeal, asked for help, and made the correct call.

Like I mentioned earlier, batter out, game over, and perfect game intact. And everyone is a hero for doing the right thing.

I do not think that Jason Donald or Cleveland Indians manager Manny Acta would have argued….much.

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Let me be the voice of reason here.

Nobody—not even Jim Joyce—is denying that he botched the biggest call of his life.

He has been nothing but apologetic about the mistake.

Still, he said that he and his family have received death threats over costing Armando Galarraga a perfect game on Wednesday—death threats !

That’s too far.

Let’s not forget Jim Joyce is a human being, a son, a brother, a husband, and a father.

He’s been an outstanding umpire for 22 years in the major leagues, umpiring two All-Star Games, six division series, three league championship series, and two World Series.

He screwed up, and he’ll have to live with that mistake for the rest of his life.

Isn’t that punishment enough?

There is one person in the world who has the right to hold a grudge against Joyce—Armando Galarraga.

Clearly, Galarraga doesn’t have any gripe with Joyce; neither should anyone else.

It’s time to call off the dogs—enough is enough.

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On June 2nd, 2010, Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game. The first in the Detroit Tiger’s illustrious history. 

This 28 year-old native Venezuelan didn’t pitch a perfect game, though. At least not according to the record books. 

Jim Joyce, the firstbase umpire that night, called the runner safe. On the last out, in the last inning, of what should have been a perfect game.

Joyce sorrowfully admitted he was wrong and has stated for all to see and hear:  “I took a perfect game away from that kid!”  Yes Joyce, you did, but I don’t blame you.  I blame Bud Selig. 

You see, Jim Joyce is a man of class. He has been a great umpire for 21 years and like all humans do sometimes, he made an error. Unlike all humans, Joyce had the stones to admit he was wrong and publicly take what was coming to him. 

That’s admirable, and it shows the true character of this umpire. Besides, after the fact all Joyce could really do is admit he was wrong and apologize. He did his part to rectify this.

Then it was Bud Selig’s turn…

Anyone familiar with baseball is not the least bit surprised at what Bud Selig has decided. This is a man that makes 15 million dollars a year to sit on his butt and pretend to care about the sport. No matter how much Galarraga deserved that perfect game, or how emphatically Jim Joyce admitted his error, Bud Selig was never going to do the right thing. 

It’s just not who he is.  It’s not what he stands for.  It’s not what he wants baseball to stand for.  

And it’s sad.  It’s stomach nauseating sleepless nights kind of sadness.  It’s exactly what baseball shouldn’t stand for!  

ESPN and other news organizations have done non-scientific polling to get a gauge on what the fans think. Time and again the polls I’ve seen show the vast majority (70%+) think this call should have been overturned. The fans think baseball should do what’s right. I’m sorry to tell you, but Bud Selig doesn’t listen all that well.  

Some say there is no recourse for a bad call.  That it would be unprecedented to overturn the call. 

Unprecedented?  In 1991, then- commissioner Fay Vincent convened a panel to look over previous no-hitters and decided to overturn 50 of them. Tell me it’s unprecedented again, please, that’s my favorite.

And as for there being no recourse… how about “the best interests of the game”.  It’s within Bud Selig’s ability to overturn this call, and major league baseball has seen Bud Selig wield his power like this before.

To quote him, “I have to use my judgment,” he said. “The game would have been in a rain delay until weather conditions allowed us to continue. And that might have been 24 hours or 48 hours or who knows?” Referring to the Phillies vs Rays World Series game in 2008. For the best interests of the game Bud Selig would have stepped in! 

Still, purists out there say that reversing Jim Joyce’s call would violate the integrity of the game… 

Really? The integrity of the game? It shows greater integrity to deny this kid his perfect game and taint baseball history forever? REALLY!?

I’m not sure what planet they’re on, but when it comes to integrity, something tells me doing what’s right tends to win out. 

Trust me, I understand that the “human element” is something people want to see stay in baseball games. I like that umpires make the calls, and that if managers don’t like it, they can argue (albeit at the risk of getting thrown out). I would be completely remiss if I didn’t mention the joy I get when I see a homeplate umpire emphatically signal for strike three.

I love the human element of baseball!  

But the human thing to do here would be to invoke “the best interests of the game” and give Galarraga his perfect game. Give this city what they’ve waited more than a century for.  The human thing to do would be to right this wrong!

Bud Selig isn’t human though. At least he doesn’t appear to be. How he can look himself in the mirror in the morning after so terribly wronging Galarraga, the city of Detroit and fans of baseball everywhere is beyond me. It just isn’t human to leave this blown call as is.  

Reversing this call doesn’t change the outcome of the game. It doesn’t affect a pennant race or shift the tide in a World Series. It simply gives the kid who threw that game the respect and notoriety he deserves in the record books for years to come. Without a reversal, we stand to remember Jim Joyce and Bud Selig more than the amazing athlete who started the season in the minors.

It’s not official what Bud Selig has decided to do, but many media reports have leaked that he will not reverse the call.  If you can’t stomach that, I suggest you sign your name here .

 Bud Selig needs to listen to the fans, if not for Galarraga’s sake then for the best interests of the game!

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Last night, as I was sitting at home, I saw the news come across that Ken Griffey Jr., one of the best players in the game, at least in this era, had retired.

I remembered watching his first years in Seattle and being so awestruck by not only his effortless left-handed swing but also by the speed he had in the outfield. He made highlight reel play after highlight reel play that will continue to be watched by the next generation of fans.

Not only that, but he survived the steroid era and proved that a player can be great without using illegal supplements to do it.

His 22 seasons, 630 career home runs, 11 Gold Gloves and 13 All-Star appearances are evidence enough for what kind of player Griffey was. His numbers spoke to the kind of athlete he was on the field, but the way he went out last night spoke to the kind of person he was off the field.

Instead of going out complaining about his lack of playing time or making excuses for the kinds of numbers he was putting up this season, he told the media in a prepared statement that he didn’t want to be a distraction to his teammates. He said that he had told the Mariners, prior to them signing him this season, that he didn’t want to become a bigger story than the team.

So, with that said, Griffey decided that enough was enough and said good-bye to the game that he had dominated for so long. The unfortunate thing for Griffey is that his constant injuries may have kept him out of the 700 home run club and prevented him from putting up bigger career numbers in other categories.

Griffey rode off into the sunset as the top news story in sports last night. It was supposed to be his night. Fans and the media would talk about and celebrate his career, talk about his Hall of Fame potential and just when that phone call might come.

A few hours later, however, another news story made Ken Griffey Jr’.s retirement back page news.

In Detroit young pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game going against the Cleveland Indians. A perfect game saved in the ninth inning thanks to a spectacular catch by outfielder Austin Jackson, a catch that would have made Willie Mays stand up and cheer.

So, with two outs in the ninth inning, Galarraga got Indians’ shortstop Jason Donald to ground just to the right of first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera fielded it perfectly and flipped it to the covering Galarraga, who beat Donald to the bag.

It should have been a perfect game; it should have been a historic night for the 28-year-old right-hander. Instead, umpire Jim Joyce saw it differently and called Donald safe at first, sending the Detroit fans and players alike into a frenzy.

Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland, along with Galarraga’s teammates, attempted to argue their case to Joyce but to no avail. The call would stand.

After the game, Galarraga tried to answer questions, but he was unquestionably upset about being robbed. Who wouldn’t be?

Even Jason Donald, when asked after the game, told reporters , “I didn’t know if I beat the throw or not. But given the circumstances, I thought for sure I’d be called out.”

Saying all that, most umpires would try to defend themselves and say they got the call right because they don’t want to admit to being wrong. Joe West, are you listening?

But Jim Joyce showed a lot of class by doing exactly the opposite. In fact, he owned up to being wrong while answering questions after the game.

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it,” Joyce told reporters after the game . “I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.”

Joyce continued and said he didn’t blame the Tigers one bit for how they felt. “I don’t blame them a bit for anything that was said. I would’ve said it myself if I had been Galarraga. I would’ve been the first person in my face, and he never said a word to me.”

In fact, Joyce took it one step further and sought out Galarraga after he spoke with the media.  He gave the young pitcher a hug, admitted to being wrong, and asked for forgiveness.

“You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, `Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry,”’ Galarraga said after talking with Joyce . “He felt really bad. He didn’t even shower.”

That’s a real show of class by an umpire who got the call wrong and changed what could have been one of the highest highs for Armando Galarraga into a “what could have been” kind of night.

Still, I give Joyce a lot of credit for owning up as well as for apologizing to Galarraga personally. It’s not often you see an umpire go to those lengths after a blown call like that.

So, a night that started with the celebration of a great player’s career ended with controversy and anger at an umpire.

The one question that will be burning up the airwaves today, especially in Detroit, is whether there is a need for more instant replay in baseball. Though home runs can be reviewed, that’s as far as the rule goes.

Baseball is already looked at as one of the longest sports out there. Adding more instant replay will only further that opinion, regardless of how much it’s needed.

I think of it this way. How often would instant replay really be used? Does baseball know when to stop? Instant replay could have given young Galarraga a perfect game last night, but what if this one hit had led to an Indians come-from-behind victory? In that instant, do you really take a win away and change the course of one team’s season?

This debate is going to be a hot button topic for a long time to come until either baseball adopts full instant replay or comes to an agreement that it can only be used in situations like this.

Either way, situations like this will continue to rear their ugly head.

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Commissioner Bud Selig is going to have a very interesting press conference.

Commissioner Selig needs to address two issues.

First, Commissioner Selig needs to commend Armando Galarraga for how he conducted himself last night. Galarraga should have been heralded this morning for the perfect game he threw against the Cleveland Indians last night.

Instead, first base umpire Jim Joyce blew what should have been the last play of the game. Instead of calling Jason Donald out at first base, Joyce ruled that Donald beat Galarraga to first base on a toss made by Miguel Cabrera to the bag.

In Joyce’s own words, he “kicked the s*%t out of the call!”  

Galarraga didn’t curse Joyce out. Galarraga didn’t charge Joyce and get in his face. No, Galarraga smiled and shook his head.

After the game, Galarraga told the media that he thought that Joyce probably felt worse about missing the call than Galarraga felt about being denied a perfect game. Galarraga then reminded everybody that Joyce was human and that everyone makes mistakes from time to time.

Who is this guy? Doesn’t Galarraga know that we are talking about Major League Baseball?

Galarraga is acting as if he is playing a kid’s game for fun. Galarraga is acting if he understands that there is more to life than baseball.

What are we fans supposed to think about Galarraga in a sports era dominated by performance-enhancing drug-taking prima donnas?

How many of us in the same situation could have hoped to act with as much grace as Galarraga in the face of pitching a perfect game?

Galarraga exhibited a degree of class, humanity, and genuine charity toward umpire Jim Joyce last night that needs to be highlighted and praised by Commissioner Selig.

Commissioner Selig needs to take time to recognize Galarraga for how he played last night as a pitcher, but more importantly, Commissioner Selig needs to say something about Galarraga handled himself as a man.

Second, Commissioner Selig is going to need to say something about the need for instant replay in baseball. 

Commissioner Selig doesn’t need to say how the league is going to implement instant replay but he does need to say that the league needs to adopt instant replay. 

Jim Joyce was emphatic after the game that he looked at the instant replay and was convinced that he missed the call.

Joyce was upset for Galarraga because he took a great effort away from Galarraga. Joyce was upset because he took Galarraga’s place in baseball history away from Galarraga.

More importantly, Joyce, with tears in his eyes and emotion in his voice, said he absolutely felt sick about missing the call.

The Commissioner needs to remind baseball fans that the guy who was most upset about missing the call was Joyce. Baseball umpires do a fantastic job getting in the right position and getting calls right because they truly care about getting the call right.

Yes, there are calls that are missed, but fans need to appreciate that the reason why certain missed calls stick out in our memory is because missed calls happen so infrequently during the course of a season.

The Commissioner has an opportunity to build some goodwill among the players, umpires, and fans by extolling Galarraga and by reminding us that everyone involved in the game is emotionally invested in making sure that all the calls in the game are right.

Hopefully, Commissioner Selig won’t squander the opportunity.

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Bud Selig needs to ponder whether Armando Galarraga should be given his perfect game, which was taken from him by umpire Jim Joyce when he made a horrific call that ruled Jason Donald was safe at first base even though he was clearly out.

Yesterday was a day that had a little of everything, but the one thing most fans will remember will be umpire Jim Joyce making a safe call on a play that should have been the last play of a perfect game for Armando Galarraga.

Instead of a perfect game, it will go down as a one-hit shutout as the Tigers won the game 3-0. Joyce admitted after the game that he blew the call, but that won’t give Galarraga his perfect game back unless Bud Selig uncharacteristically becomes involved and rules that he should receive credit for his perfect game if Selig has the power to make that decision.

Selig, who has been on the down-low this season, does not like to be pressured into making decisions, so it will be interesting to see if he even comments on the situation. He was in hiding for five days after Alex Rodriguez was found to have used steroids before making a statement.

I can understand not using instant replay for an entire game, but it may be time to use it in the last two or three innings of games. Even the umpire Joyce probably wishes there was instant replay being used last night since the right call would have been made.

Instead, Galarraga, who was ready to celebrate, was shocked to see Joyce call Donald safe. Joyce may have been the only one in the ballpark who thought Donald was safe.

Galarraga, to his credit, maintained his composure after the bad call. Some pitchers, like Carlos Zambrano, may have made an ugly scene in the same situation, but it was amazing how Galarraga remained calm and went back to the mound and recorded the last out.

In the same night we witnessed perfection for 26 batters, we saw imperfection from Joyce, robbing Galarraga of a special moment that almost certainly will never happen again in his major league career.

Galarraga was fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2008 after compiling a 13-7 record but experienced the sophomore jinx in 2009, when his record fell to 6-10.

This year he didn’t even make the Opening Day roster and was sent to Toledo, where he was 4-2 this season after seven starts before returning to the Tigers. He was making his fourth start of the season for the Tigers after being recalled.

Austin Jackson made one of the best catches I have ever seen when Mark Grudzielanek hit a long fly ball that was chased down by Jackson. When the ball was first hit it looked like it would land between Jackson and left fielder Don Kelly, but Jackson made a catch similar to the catch Willie Mays made in the 1954 World Series. I can’t recall an outfielder running as far as Jackson to get to a ball.

We can only wait now to see if Bud Selig will make the decision to give the perfect game back to Galarraga after Joyce took it away from him. I do give credit to Joyce for admitting he blew the call, but that doesn’t give Galarraga his perfect game back.

Knowing how reluctant Selig is to act decisively, he may just add this to his list of things to hand off to the new commissioner in 2012. He has put off for years a ruling on whether Pete Rose should be reinstated and become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration, so there is no reason to expect him to act expeditiously now.

Ken Griffey Jr. Retires

It wasn’t the best day for Ken Griffey Jr. to announce his retirement, but it was still time for him to walk away from the game he has played professionally since 1987, when he played for Bellingham of the Northwest League in 1987.

Griffey, at age 40, is in position to be the first No. 1 draft pick since the inception of the amateur draft in 1965 to be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in about six years. He is the last player among the 1987 first round picks to retire from baseball.

Only Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, and Willie Mays have hit more lifetime home runs than the 630 Griffey hit during his career. He has never been mentioned as a steroids user, making his numbers even more significant.

I salute Griffey for retiring even though he may have been kept on the roster despite having a non-Griffey type of year. His retirement showed me that he cares too much about the Seattle Mariners to remain on the roster while preventing a better player from helping the team.

His .184 batting average and two extra-base hits in 108 plate appearances with no home runs and seven runs batted in show he made the right decision. I have more respect for Griffey than ever for making this unselfish move to walk away from the game when it was evident he doesn’t have the skills he once had in his 22-year career.

If ever there was a player that is a lock for the Hall of Fame, it is Ken Griffey Jr. He will fall 219 hits short of 3,000 hits, but his other numbers are so overwhelmingly great that he will still go in the first time he is eligible.

He is 14th all-time in runs batted in with 1,836. He made the All-Star team 13 times and was third in AL All-Star DH voting at the time of his retirement. He won a Gold Glove for 10 consecutive years from 1990-1999. He won the 1997 AL MVP award. In addition, he hit 40 or more home runs seven times and drove in 100 or more runs eight times.

Baseball-reference.com compares his stats to those of Hall of Famers Frank Robinson, Reggie Jackson, Mel Ott, Willie Mays, Dave Winfield, and Mickey Mantle.

Griffey missed a lot of games later in his career, which prevented him putting up even better numbers. He played in 130 or fewer games 11 times during his career and played in 100 or fewer games in five of those years.

We laud Griffey for playing the game the right way and for knowing it was time to leave the game he loves behind being a better game because he epitomizes what is good about baseball.

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