Nobody's Perfect (Except for Armando Galarraga)

By now you have heard all about what should have been Armando Galarraga’s perfect game that was spoiled by first base umpire Jim Joyce’s blown call. The cries for replay in baseball are predictably vociferous, but to me, the more surprising reaction resulting from the incident has to do with the perceived role of umpires in our national pastime.

In an ESPN.com poll, 58% of respondents say that Joyce should have called the runner out even if he believed the play to be a tie in order to preserve the perfect game for Galarraga. In essence, the argument in this hypothetical situation is that an umpire should make what he believes to be a bad call (after all, tie goes to the runner) in order to help a pitcher make history. This sentiment – expressed by the overwhelming majority of respondents to the poll, completely contradicts what are this morning also overwhelming calls for instant replay to take on an expanded role in baseball.

The main point here ought to be that umpires, through whatever means, whether that is their own judgment on the field, instant replay, or something else, should get the call right. The runner was either safe or out, and the correct call should be applied. For an umpire to call the runner out when he believed him to be safe would be umpiring’s version of malpractice.

It should be noted that in the case last night, this is not what happened – Joyce blew the call. He can’t be criticized for somehow deciding to screw Galarraga – he simply got it wrong. I’d rather see an umpire blow the call that he believed he got right than see him call a runner out that he knew to be safe in some misguided attempt to help the pitcher make history. Blown calls are part of the game (for now at least). Making a safe/out call based on the context of the play rather than what the umpire saw on the field calls into question the integrity of the game.

Clearly, in the real case rather than the hypothetical one, the runner should have been called out. Now it appears that MLB is considering reviewing the call – a course of action that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but given the clear nature of the evidence and the historical importance of the game, must be considered.