As a rule, umpires don’t typically say they’re sorry. But major league umpire Jim Joyce issued a heartfelt mea culpa Wednesday night after blowing a first base call with two outs in the ninth inning. The incorrect call nullified Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga‘s hopes of an accomplishment only 20 other big league pitchers have achieved: a perfect game.
“I just cost that kid a perfect game,” a very sorry Joyce told reporters in Detroit, according to The New York Times. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay. It was the biggest call of my career.”
You gotta give Joyce credit for at least admitting he was wrong — and fast — and you gotta admire Galarraga for the incredible forgiveness he showed Joyce after the game ended.
When a Detroit Free Press reporter approached Galarraga in the locker room after the game and informed him that Joyce felt truly terrible and apologized for the botched call, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the pitcher used the opportunity to call Joyce every name in the book.
But this amazing pitcher chose not to do that. Instead, he showed him something much different: forgiveness.
“Tell him no problem,” Galarraga told the Free Press. “I can go tell him.”
Then he smiled. “I should probably talk to him. It will be better.” And he did.
Meanwhile, fans, fellow players and even the governor of Michigan are more or less ignoring the bad call and praising Galarraga for his perfect game. According to USA Today, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm tweeted just after the game that she was issuing a proclamation “declaring Galarraga pitched a perfect game” — even if it won’t read that way in the record books.
A fluke might have caused Galarraga to miss a chance at a certain kind of history, but hopefully his extraordinary sportsmanship and grace will make history of a different, admirable kind.
Photo by Kevin.Ward via Flickr.