What would you say if one of your dreams was yanked away from you, unfairly? Be honest. Would you be angry? Would you cry about an injustice, at least for a little while? This is what happened to Armando Galarraga in June. There he was, standing in the Tigers’ clubhouse, watching a replay on TV over and over, trying to understand it. Months later, it still does not make sense.
What would you say if one of your dreams was yanked away from you, unfairly? Be honest. Would you be angry? Would you cry about an injustice, at least for a little while?
This is what happened to Armando Galarraga in June. There he was, standing in the Tigers’ clubhouse, watching a replay on TV over and over, trying to understand it. Months later, it still does not make sense.
The 27th out of Galarraga’s perfect game was not even a tough call. Cleveland shortstop Jason Donald hit a ground ball to Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Cabrera fielded it cleanly and threw to Galarraga, who caught it and stepped on the base before Donald got there. But inexplicably, umpire Jim Joyce had called Donald safe.
Galarraga kept watching the replay. Finally, he smiled, turned and said: “Unbelievable.”
As he spoke, Galarraga was a 28-year-old pitcher with just 21 major league victories. Most people outside of Detroit had no idea who he was.
He was entitled to a few curse words, or even a terse “no comment.” Instead, he said: “We’re human. Everybody’s not perfect.”
I told him Joyce was not taking this well.
“Tell him, ‘No problem,'” Galarraga said.
He smiled. “I should probably talk to him,” he said. “It will be better.”
CLEVELAND, May 26 — White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen called umpire Joe West a double expletive after West ejected Guillen from a game. Guillen went on a lengthy tirade against the umpire . . .
LINCOLN, Neb., Nov. 27 — Angry Nebraska Cornhuskers fans, upset about the officiating in a recent loss to Texas A&M, have sent thousands of vulgar and nasty e-mails to Big 12 officials, including death threats. Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe, on the advice of law-enforcement officials, did not visit Lincoln for the Huskers’ game this weekend . . .
What would you say if you thought you destroyed your reputation in a matter of seconds? Be honest. Would you minimize your mistake? Would you say it wasn’t as bad as it looked?
No, Jim Joyce was not taking this well. Joyce had paced near his locker and spit in a sink. There were reporters in the umpires’ room at Comerica Park, which is never a good thing. Reporters never ask an umpire why he got a call right.
Nobody in the room knew if Joyce had even seen the replay. But he had. “I did not get the call correct,” he said. “I kicked the (bleep) out of it.”
He was clearly devastated. He was offered an excuse: Jim, did you have a bad angle?
“I had a great angle on it,” he said. “I just missed the damn call.”
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 20 — The Southeastern Conference has suspended Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl for eight league games after the NCAA caught Pearl lying to investigators about NCAA violations . . .
NEW YORK, Dec. 16 — The Jets have suspended strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi indefinitely. Alosi intentionally tripped an opposing player during a game, told inactive players to form a wall on the sideline and failed to be forthright when the organization questioned him about it . . .
The next day, of course, Galarraga took the lineup card out to Joyce, and Galarraga got a new car, and the nation praised the two of them for how they handled a miserable situation.
But that was the next day. The night of the Extra Perfect Game, nobody saw all of that coming — Galarraga and Joyce had gone from the field to their lockers and met with reporters. They had gone from completely immersed in the game to having to explain what happened.
A few minutes earlier, it seemed like Armando Galarraga had secured his place in history. Moments after that, it seemed like Jim Joyce had secured his place in infamy. But afterward, they both reminded us that what they really had done was participate in a game.
Games are important in the moment. Class and accountability matter forever. And that’s why this was my favorite sports story of the year.
— Column by Michael Rosenberg, Detroit Free Press
