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June 6, 2010 On December 7th, 1941 the US Naval Base in Honolulu, Hawaii was attacked without warning by the Imperial Japanese Navy in a day that FDR would say, “will live in infamy.” On June 3rd, 2010 20,000+ Detroit Tigers fans were completely taken by surprise when, on what would have been the 27th and final out of a perfect game for pitcher Armando Galarraga, first base umpire Jim Joyce called Indians infielder Jason Donald safe. He was clearly out. It would have been just the 21st perfect game in over 100 years of baseball in America. The shock the followed was immediate. For at least a full minute, nobody knew what to say or do. It seemed that Galarraga had dodged his last bullet when, on the first out of the ninth inning, Austin Jackson made an incredible, Willy Mays-esque over the shoulder catch in left-center field. Mario Impemba and Rod Allen, the Tigers television commentators, were flabbergasted by that last call. Mario could only eke out a, “Oh no… ohhhhhh noooooo…” and Rod, in an extremely melancholy tone said, “Why Jim Joyce? Why??? He was safe…. He was safe…” After the shock, came the anger. The boo birds were out in full force. Miguel Cabrera couldn’t contain his rage, continually shouting at Joyce for what ended up being the 28th out. Gerald Laird (batting .154 this year, 71 points below his weight) came flying out of the dugout to yell at Joyce. When he was finally restrained, Tigers manager Jim Leyland got into the act, letting Joyce know how he felt. And like an honorable man, Joyce listened and took his medicine. At the time, Joyce was convinced his call was the correct one. Conspicuously absent from the tirades was Armando Galarraga himself. When he saw Joyce motion that the runner was safe, he just smiled, albeit in a dejected sort of way. When the game ended, he embraced his catcher Alex Avila, and went on his way. When Galarraga was interviewed after the game, he claimed he was extremely disappointed in the call. How could he not be? But, he refused to criticize Joyce saying, “We’re all human.” When Joyce watched the replay and realized his mistake, he tearfully went to Galarraga to apologize. They embraced as Galarraga accepted his apology. The fallout from all this was even more incredible. For what it’s worth, I would not have been such a gentleman had I been Galarraga. I would have been steamed… and rightfully so! But Galarraga showed a poise, and dignity that is rarely seen anywhere. The same goes for Joyce. When Joyce accepted the Tigers lineup card from Galarraga the next day, he was crying. He knew his mistake would forever alter baseball history in a negative way. But when Galarraga was presented with a new red Corvette from GM for his “28 out” perfect game, I couldn’t help but think Joyce deserved one as well. As fascinating as the human drama that played out June 3rd and the next afternoon was, the lessons that were drawn from the event were more so. The calls for Bud Selig to overrule Joyce’s incorrect call and award a perfect game were everywhere. Even the politicians couldn’t help but grandstand. Governor Granholm “declared” that Galarraga pitched a perfect game (as if that actually means something) and Rep. Dingell tried to pass a Congressional resolution in DC to the same effect. The lesson they, and many many others drew from June 3rd was that a grievous wrong had been done to poor Armando Galarraga. How unfair! What a cynical interpretation of the events! June 3rd was a showcase of everything great about mankind. Dignity, class, sportsmanship, and camaraderie were all exemplified under the dark cloud of human fallibility. What happened at Comerica Park happened. We cannot go back and change the record books, just like we cannot undo what has been done. What we should learn from this is that it’s not whether or not we make mistakes that defines our character. It’s how we deal with the inevitable mistakes we will make, that does. And if that is the standard to which we hold our fellow humans, Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga are two of the best we have to offer. (c) 2010 Novi
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