“I kicked the shit out of it.” – Jim Joyce, June 2, 2010
I checked my phone to see how the Detroit Tigers were doing in their game against the Cleveland Indians in between innings at my older son’s baseball game Wednesday night. I was happy to see that the Tigers were up 1-0 and was shocked to see that the game was already in the bottom of the seventh. The Tigers-Indians game had started less than an hour-and-a-half earlier and most major league games last at least two-and-a-half hours.
Within a few minutes my brother Keith called and excitedly explained that the Tigers were now up 3-0 and were heading to the ninth inning with pitcher Armando Galarraga needing just three straight outs for a perfect game. I stayed on the phone as Keith announced the top of the ninth to me. First, was the amazingly Willie Mays-esque catch by Tigers rookie center fielder Austin Jackson on a long drive by Mark Grudzielanek. Then a routine grounder to short for the second out. Standing between Galarraga and baseball immortality (there have been only 20 perfect games in well over 100 years of major league baseball) was Indians shortstop Jason Donald, stepping to the plate for the 50th at-bat in his career. Donald hit a grounder wide of first that was snagged by Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who threw the ball to Galarraga covering first base for the out. But first base umpire Jim Joyce inexplicably called Donald safe.
A hit. No perfect game or no-hitter for Galarraga. And baseball infamy for Joyce for making what will likely be considered the worst or second worst umpire’s call in baseball history.
What followed was unexpected, and may in the long run, actually benefit Major League Baseball:
* Galarraga displayed remarkable poise, smiling wryly immediately after the botched call before retuning to the mound and retiring the next batter for the win. In comments after the game and on Thursday, he consistently showed magnanimity with expressions of pride and joy in his perfect performance as well as sincere compassion for Joyce, who met with the Tigers pitcher to personally apologize. It’s difficult to recall an example of an athlete who was screwed over by a call handling his reaction with greater decency and perspective.
* Joyce (pictured with Galarraga prior to Thursday’s game) met with members of the media Wednesday night and profusely and without qualifications expressed profound regret for his mistake after he viewed the video replay following the game. In doing so, the creatively mustachioed veteran umpire also coined a phrase that I expect will have a great chance to appear among the most memorable and important quotes of 2010. Said Joyce:
“No, I did not get the call correct. I kicked the shit out of it. I had a great angle, a great position, I just missed the damn call. This isn’t a call. This is a history call. And I kicked the shit out of it. And I took a perfect game away from that kid who worked his ass off all night.”
* Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig–who is perhaps the only thing worse about the great game of baseball other than its appallingly incompetent umpires–provided support for the Stopped Clock Theory by resisting pressure to reverse the call and award Galarraga with a perfect game, though he explained that he would reexamine a possible expansion of the league’s very limited video replay policy.
I suspect that video replays that will allow such egregious errors to be overturned will expand as soon as the 2010 postseason. If that happens, we baseball fans will have a split second from a night in Detroit, the sportsmanlike reactions of the central characters, and the words “kicked the shit out of it” to thank for this necessary improvement to our beloved sport.
