We wuz robbed.
It's a refrain you hear time and again in sports -- that the officiating cost somebody something.
In many cases, it's an excuse. Today, though, it's absolutely true. Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game taken away from him by a bad call on what would have been the 27th and final out of the game Wednesday night.
After 26 straight outs, umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Cleveland's Jason Donald safe after Donald hit a grounder between first and second. Galarraga covered first on the play, and replays showed that he clearly took the throw and got his foot on the bag before the runner.
Joyce, simply, missed it. And he has admitted it and apologized, to Galarraga and everyone else involved.
MLB commissioner Bud Selig won't step in and fix this -- he's apparently going to let it go the way of all other umpiring mistakes over the years and just let it stand. But he should.
Selig has the authority to do so. In normal situations, I would never advocate such a drastic step, but in this rare case it's warranted. The play would have ended the game -- a 3-0 Detroit win. Everyone agrees that the call was missed (and of course MLB should be able to consult replay on such plays, but that's another story).
I know some would argue this opens a Pandora's Box, but it doesn't. It's more about right and wrong -- a win-win for the pitcher who was robbed, the umpire who is distraught and baseball fans in general, who like everyone else love to see a rare night of perfection in our imperfect world.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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15 comments:
And you would feel the same way if a bad call went the other way? that is, if the runner had been clearly safe but the umpire had called him out, giving the pitcher a perfect game, you would argue that Selig should take away the perfect game, right?
Of course you wouldn't.
Baseball is slow enough as it is without instant replay. If your Ambien prescription runs out, just turn a game on. If it's on Fox and Joe Buck is broadcasting, you'll sleep for a week.
The problem with that line of thinking is that the entire game of baseball is so dependent on an umpire's judgment. What if some pitches were called strikes that were actually balls earlier in the game? With a different balls/strikes count, there very well could have been several walks or hits that occurred before this point in the game. You just can't go down that path...
Sorry Scott, but this is a really, really bad suggestion. There's no crying in baseball......and no do-overs. It's all part of the game, for better or worse.
The ump has been crying about it and admits he screwed up so how could the commish not reverse it?
Why are the sports officals such evil bastards? This is so common on every levelfrom youth to pros in all sports.
Clearly the ump only recanted after he was called out and saw his intentional evil error.
The fix this problem any officials who screw up like this need to be fined a years salary and arrested and thrown in jail. Seriously.
Make it a crime if they intentionally make bad calls. That will fix the prob once and for all.
Thats why refs and umps SUCK !!
i don't agree, scott. if you go back and reverse a call as a commish, then the next time a bad call happens you are going to feel obligated to reverse that call as well. what if, say, game 7 of the world series this year ends with a bang bang play like that. everyone celebrates, but then the commish takes away the game from the winning team the next day, and awards the series to the team that lost.
if he doesn't, the team that lost says, well, you did it for that detroit pitcher, why not us? and, the world series has far greater implications than a perfect game (no matter how rare and amazing a feat), so he would have to do it. it is opening pandora's box. where do you draw the line? is it only for those pitchers who have a perfect game "taken" away?
we are making a bigger fuss about this than need be. it was a bang bang play, in real time, it was not 100% clear than he beat the runner...and the tie always goes to the runner, so i can see where the ump stood on this.
sure, after mulitiple angles and slow motion, but in real time, very close play (and you can't just bias your judgment towards the pitcher, you have to call it as you see it). the ump called it as he saw it and it wasn't a horrible call, just given the circumstances, people are blowing it out of proportion as far as how good of an ump he is.
Holy Cow!
Baseball, is art and in art there is perfection and imprefection, and often the two collide.
There is no time limit in baseball, perhaps boring to some, no sudden death or overtime, no shot clock, and no delay of game.
Baseball is errors, and call that send the game one way or the other, was that really a strike, or should it have been base on balls?
It was a perfect game, without a doubt, and it will be forever more memorable for the bad call.
So I say let it stand, and Play Ball!
Please ...
THIS WAS AN INTENTIONAL DELIBERATE ACT
THIS WAS NO ACCIDENT !!!!
This is commonplace in sports and why officials are always despised and why they make bad calls and the instant replay was invented
There is no way in hell any sane person can defend this and if they do they are guilty of aiding and abetting a crime
Its time officials are held accountable for their crimnal actions
Its time to charge them with crimes and arrest them if they are guilty
Bad calls can ruin lives and have millions of times
If you are in the officiating profession and you are paid for your services there needs to be accoutability no different than anything else
GUILTY !!!!
And have you heard that the scoundrel Selig is not changing the call????????????
This criminal acitivty has to STOP !!!!!!!!!!!
06/02/10-- Mark that date-- A blown call rises to forever become the standard of excellence in baseball sportsmanship.
Mr Fowler...you couldn't be more wrong about baseball fans wanting perfection in an imperfect world. The reason us true baseball fans enjoy the game is because baseball is indeed imperfect...like the world as you say. Its parallels to life itself is what truly makes the game the country's National Pasttime.
Wow, big surprise here, Scott cries "make it fair". News flash, sports ain't fair, nor is life.
You play by the rules in place at game time. Scott, like my 9 year old, likes to make up rules as he goes along.
When I read this post I had every intention of leaving a comment on how I disagreed with your opinion. It seems I'm not the only one, but would have disagreed with more class.
Since I read this blog through google reader, I'm spared the inane ramblings of those who comment - if my name were Ron Green it would be something listed in my annual Thanksgiving column on things I'm thankful for.
Scott we are talking about the same Bud Selig who wouldnt do anything about the steroid scandals nor will he do anything to level off competition in the league so that there are other teams outside of the AL East that have a shot at a title.
Bud Selig is impotent as a comish.
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