MLB Will Not Reverse Ump's Call That Cost Armando Galarraga Perfect Game
Ump Jim Joyce and Pitcher Armando Galarraga show perfect sportsmanship.
June 3, 2010— -- Major League Baseball won't overturn an umpire's bad call that stole a perfect game from Detroit Tigers' pitcher Armando Galarraga.
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement today that "the human element has always been an integral part of baseball, it is vital that mistakes on the field be addressed."
But the commissioner has decided not to invoke his authority to overturn umpire Jim Joyce's errant "safe" call, although he acknowledged a statement that "there is no dispute that last night's game should have ended differently."
If Joyce hadn't botched the call, the play would have ended the game in triumph for Galarraga's bid to throw a rare perfect game.
But Selig's statement did say that MLB will review how baseball is officiated and "the expanded use of instant replay," a move he has long opposed.
Joyce and Galarraga put on a display of perfect sportsmanship today at the beginning of another Tiger-Indians game in Detroit.
Joyce walked onto the field at Comerica Park with his colleagues, his face red with emotion and fighting back tears as he faced fans for the first time.
Joyce was assigned to call balls and strikes behind the plate today, and the home plate umpire routinely accepts the line-up cards from the managers of both teams at the start of the game.
Instead of the manager, the Tigers sent Galarraga to the plate with the line-up card. That moment of reconciliation was planned by Detroit manager Jim Leyland. The umpire wiped tears from his eyes.
But Detroit fans weren't moved by the moment. They booed him, still angry over Wednesday night's botched call that denied Galarraga a perfect game, which would have been only the 21st perfect game in baseball history.
Joyce clapped Galarraga on the back before he walked back to the Tigers' dugout. The umpire then tucked the lineup card into his breast pocket, took a breath, and prepared to call balls and strikes.
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