Some news and notes in the aftermath of the Armando-Galarraga-perfect-game-that-wasn’t-due-to-Jim-Joyce-blown-call-heard-round-the-world.
- Fox Sports has the post game reaction videos. I believe collectively the team is dripping with class
- Jim Leyland is asking Detroit fans to exhibit the behavior modeled by Galarraga. Come on Tigers fans. Don’t let me down.
- Armando Galarraga is taking out the lineup card to home plate umpire Jim Joyce today. Some may view this as a stunt. I just view it as remarkable. Happy to be sappy about it.
- MLB is considering reviewing the call. What this really means is they are considering overturning the call, or at least they haven’t ruled it out. There isn’t anything to review.
- Jim Joyce had the option to not work today’s game but is going to “take what I’ve got coming”
- Matt Sussman on the Zen of Armando Galarraga
- Kevin Kaduk of Big League Stew on the whole affair.
- And finally, Joe Posnanski. Because in times of baseball strife it’s who we turn to to feel better.
Nobody better than JoePoz. Although Billfer’s pretty good too….
I admit the way Galarraga handled the situation deserves praise, as I can’t imagine not decking Joyce immediately after his call. But to say that all players and fans need to follow his lead is ridiculous. A show of great character isn’t just about turning the other cheek–it’s about calling out injustice and demanding wrongs be righted. Players and fans alike have the right to demand MLB reverse the call. And if Bud Selig says he can’t because it would take away the human element of the game, or that it would set a bad precedent, or whatever excuse he uses, then we’ll know that HE and his cronies are the ones who need a character adjustment.
/end rant
Well, wanting justice is different than booing a guy who admitted he made a mistake and can’t do anything about it at this point. Leyland was calling for the fans to treat the umpiring crew and Joyce with respect. Nothing wrong with that. Booing Joyce won’t change the call.
I wouldn’t advocate booing Joyce. He publicly apologized, and that’s all I was asking of Jim Joyce. But KW is absolutely right. I believe the ball is now is MLB’s court. A show of great character doesn’t mean the Tigers and baseball fans everywehre shouldn’t call out injustice and demand certain wrongs be righted.
I won’t boo Jim Joyce, but I might just boo Bud Selig. I’m not buying the whole “precedent” argument. If MLB is so concerned about precendent, by all means, let the reversal of this call set a precedent that any 27th out of any future perfect game can be subject to review if the out is in any way whatsoever controversial. The precendent argument is a non issue. This is a one time circumstance.
I also don’t buy that reversing the call opens up the replay debate. I’m not for extending replay. I’m for reversing the call and doing the right thing. Why? Because you can.
He ought to apologize for Ulysses too.
Totally agree, KW
Bud Selig could do the right thing and start replays beginning with this game. I’m hoping the decision will be reversed eventually.
The Yankees probably would have started throwing garbage onto the field. Tiger fans have handled this with great restraint. Thatt doesn’t take away the fact that Armando threw a perfect game. And it should be scored as such.
Hey Armando, This “BUDS” for you!
Regardless of his apology, how bad he feels, or how many tears he shed, Jim Joyce should have been suspended immediately. He should never work an All-Star or post-season game again. Other than the negative notoriety, what consequences has he suffered? Foe heaven’s sake, he was BEHIND THE PLATE 16 hours later!
Please join our boycott of MLB’s major advertiser, Budweiser, until the perfect game call is reversed
What point is this trying to make? How is any of this Budweiser’s fault? Because they sponsor the sport that employs an umpire that *GASP* is human? He admitted his mistake, but why stop at Budweiser, here are some other major sponsors: Bank of America, Bayer, Cisco (better return that router!), Gatorade, General Motors, Nike, Pepsi (good thing I’m a Coke guy myself). I can see wanting to punish Jim Joyce in some fashion, but unless he owns a heck of a lot of shares in these companies, I’m not seeing how this idea is anything but dumb.
This isn’t about Jim Joyce anymore. Of course he is human. Of course mistakes are part of the game. Sure, there will be lingering anger at Joyce, expressed in various ways of retribution, but this is really no longer about Joyce. This is now about MLB.
And in spite of Joyce being “human”, why exonerate MLB, and *GASP* the honerable Bud Selig, who can very easily right this unique and unusal error? Save for a time machine, Jim Joyce can do nothing about his mistake. But Bud Selig, and MLB can be held accountable — in this one very unique instance. Righting this particular error need not open pandora’s box — as some will argue. That’s rubbish. This particular scenario, or something even remotely like it, will never happen again in any of our lifetimes, nevermind in the history of the sport.
But instead, MLB, with Selig at the helm, will hide behind empty statements and the warm and fuzzy displays of sportmanship from a class organization all of which sends a message out to the baseball universe “that all is okay.” A boycott of Budweiser isn’t a indictment of Jim Joyce — it’s an indictment of MLB and the apathy of Bud Selig in regard to an egregious injustice.
Look, in the grand scheme of things the reversal of this call doesn’t really matter. For all intents and purposes, “all is okay.” We all know that. We all know this is just a game. The lesson of the day is we all need to move on and accept that Joyce’s gaffe isn’t all that serious in the grand scheme of things. That’s what the theatrics were all about today, staged nicely by the Tigers organization, the players, and their fans, all of whom played their respective parts admirably — and with much more dignanty, I’m sure, than would their east-coast counterparts. Be that as it may, I will protest this gloss-over out of principal. A boycott of Budweiser is as good a start as any. Let this hit Bud Selig where it hurts — or at least stir up a little pin prick — to let him know his empty statements are not enough. Let us wage a fight against this apathy — out of principal.
Ok, fair enough T, but I fail to see how punishing Budweiser makes sense. You want to punish MLB, fine. Stop watching/attending the games, stop buying the merchandise, and send Bud Selig a nastygram. But Budweiser et al are not at fault here for anything. They are innocent bystanders. And why single them out? There are lots of official MLB sponsors (a list can be found here: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_sponsors.jsp), so why is Budweiser more at fault than any of the others? It’s totally understandable that people are angry and frustrated at Bud Selig and MLB, but directing that anger at a corporate sponsor is misguided.
Signaling Budweiser out would be irrational, yes. But the important thing here is not to condone MLB and roll over on this issue, imho. Doing business as usual, whether it’s supporting the sponsors, going to the games, buying the merchandise, or whatever, sends the wrong signal to Bud Selig. It tells him that everything is okay with MLB’s handling of the situation. But it’s kind of like when you knock a glass jar of tomato sauce off the shelf in the grocery store by accident. You look at the mess in the isle for a minute, sigh, shrug your shoulders, and think to yourself, “isn’t that a shame.” And then you move on, put it out of your mind completely and continue shopping.
Well, Bud Selig has essentially done the same here. Isn’t that a shame for Tiger Fans and Armando Galarraga? But let’s move on, folks. There is nothing to see here. This is essentially what Bud Selig has told the baseball world. I happen to emphatically disagree with this approach. I think Bud Selig should clean up the mess in isle June 2, 2010 — not because it’s his fault, or Jim Joyce’s fault, but because it’s the right thing to do. I understand this is a controversial issue and a staunch line to take, but we aren’t talking about a victory or a loss — or even a home run or something that occurs in baseball every single day. Those things are a dime a dozen in baseball. What we are talking about something akin to the holy grail in baseball — the perfect game.
T-
I don’t disagree with the notion to punish MLB in some way, I just think that boycotting the corporate sponsors is the wrong way to do it.
this is the only 29 out PERFECT GAME …EVER……. this will never be duplicated. Battlestar faced 29 batters and they were ALL OUT….Think about it..never again!!!!!!
this is the only 29 out PERFECT GAME …EVER……. this will never be duplicated. Battlestar faced 29 batters and they were ALL OUT….Think about it..never again!!!!!!
take that Bud!
LOL. I saw a guy at the game with that sign. Genius.
I coach 11-12 year olds and we constantly struggle with bad calls. I work hard to teach the kids that bad calls will happen, and to accept it. Armando’s reaction is the best example a pro could set. Congratulations for being an excellent role model.
The flip side is what to do about such a travesty. In my opinion, umpires need to drop their arrogance level a bit on the field, and confer with each other to help get things right. If Joyce knew he had the call wrong on the field, he could have huddled all 4 umpires together for 10 seconds, then came out of the huddle with an OUT gesture. Comerica Park would have exploded in jubilation and all would be right with the world. Umpires have done this before, especially with home runs.
Once the next batter put the ball in play, it’s too late. It doesn’t matter if Commissioner BS changes it now, the fans in attendance were robbed. Armando would not get doused with bubbly on a Friday afternoon for a call-reversal. Fans watching at home would not jump about and high-five each other. Sure, the record books would be righted, but the record books are secondary to the human experience.
Yes, I would like the record books righted.