Final Impressions on the Botched Perfecto

After a number of days after the botched call by Jim joyce during the potential perfect game by Armando Galarraga and answering questions by many of my friends, here are my final impressions.

Jim Joyce
I stated in my prior post that after his bad call at first Jim Joyce shouldn't umpire a T-Ball game. I have to admit it, I was wrong. Sure he made a bad call, but give him credit for making that call and sticking by it "IF" the runner had been safe. Sure he could have called the runner out automatically and the game would have been perfect, but "IF" the runner was truly safe and he'd call him out then it would have been a bad call. He swore it was safe until he saw the replay. To further give Joyce credit, once he saw the replay and realized he made the wrong call he was man enough to step to the forefront and apologize personally to both Jim Leyland and Galarraga. In all my years of watching baseball I have never seen an umpire apologize for making a bad call. Granted, the situation wasn't a routine grounder during an ordinary game, but Joyce's apology shows that he is a class act. Plus, firing him for his mistake is easier that his having to live with his mistake for the rest of his life just like Leon Durham and Bill Buckner have because of their on the field error.

Armando Galarraga
I have to admit that I was really surprised at how Galarraga took the loss of his perfect game. If he got mad and cursed and kicked the dirt for losing the perfecto, no one would blame him. I would actually expect it. But his stance that no one is perfect and accepting it for what it was has gained many new fans for Galarraga.

Commissioner Bud Selig
Commissioner Selig has taken some heat from people who disagree with his decision to not overturn the call and give Galarraga the perfect game. I agree with Selig. How many bad calls have been made throughout baseball history including those that cost teams championships and were not overturned. Granted, this was a perfect game, of which only 20 have ever been thrown in over 130 years but if you overturn that bad call, then why can't a call during the World Series which is worth 10 times more than the 27th out of a potential perfect game be overturned. When I mean that it is worth more during the World Series its because that decision can alter championships and affect the whole team while perfect games though celebrated by the entire team, tends to be a personal achievement. In addition, the human element to the game is something that differentiates Baseball from other sports that overturns decisions by methods of bureacratic decisions and/or instant replay. Before I go into instant replay, I don't think any pitcher would accept being given a perfect game due to an overturning of the call by Selig. It wouldn't be the same as actually winning the Perfecto on the field.

Instant Replay
I'm already hearing the calls for expanded instant replay, which I think would be a major mistake. Why? Sure, as it is there is instant replay for homeruns. Then if you add instant replay to decisions made by umpires, when will it end. Balls and strikes? Foul balls? Balks? Check Swings? Fan Interference? Runner Interference? See what I mean. If you open instant replay to certain scenarios then you may have to open it to all scenarios, then at that point, Baseball loses its human aspect. Why bother having human players, you can just simulate games on a computer or play it with robots.

So there, what do you guys think. Agree, disagree. Let me know.
FH

June 2, 2010 A Historic Day in Baseball

Today's activities in the Baseball world sounds like something my daughter would say: "Daddy, I have good news and bad news. Which one would you like to hear first". Well, I'll take the choice out of your hands. Here's the bad.

Armando Galarraga has a Perfect Game Stolen From Him
Let me paint you a little picture (and it ain't pretty), the score is 3-0 Tigers against the Indians on the top of the Ninth inning. The crowd of over 17,000 are rocking after an amazing catch that was made by Center-fielder Austin Jackson for the first out. The second out comes on a groundout to short. The next batter grounds the ball between first and second which First baseman Miguel Cabrera fields and throws to Galarraga who is fielding the base and catches the ball while reaches the base before the runner. The call? Safe! Umpire Jim Joyce makes the wrong call on the potential 3rd out of a potential perfect game. Amazing.

We had the chance to witness something that has never been seen in over 130 years of the history of MLB: 3 perfect games during one season. There have been two perfectos thrown 5 days apart in 1880 and 2 perfectos as recent as last month (Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay threw one each), let alone 3 (In a future post, I'll expand on a few tidbits I came up with about perfect games).

To Galarraga's credit he was gracious in his on the field interview with the MLB network. The best game of his career was ruined on an obvious play. It wasn't even close enough to be considered "Bang-Bang". Jim Joyce shouldn't even be allowed to umpire in T-Ball. The calls for expanded instant replay will grow louder since all the angles shown prove that the Joyce's call was grossly wrong. We'll see what happens next

Ken Griffey Jr. Announces His Retirement During his 22nd MLB Season
Before I get into this story, it is amazing to me that Ken Griffey Jr., had been playing Baseball in the majors for 21 years. 21 years? It seems like yesterday that I saw him debut with the Seattle Mariners in 1989, play the outfield with his father, hit back to back homers with Griffey Sr and breaking the hearts of Yankees fans at the end Game 5 of the AL Wild Card by sliding in safe with the winning run.

This first ballot Hall of Famer has decided to retire today putting an end to an impressive career. In a later post, I'll go into detail about the Hall of Famer career of Ken Grifey Jr. Thanks for the highlights Junior. They were amazing.

FH