The imperfect game stands.An umpire’s tears and admission he blew a call failed to move baseball commissioner Bud Selig to award Armando Galarraga the perfect game he pitched. The play and its aftermath quickly became the talk of the sports world and beyond, even reaching the White House.
Selig said Thursday that Major League Baseball will look at expanded replay and umpiring, but didn’t specifically address umpire Jim Joyce’s botched call Wednesday night that cost Galarraga the perfect game—27 batters up, 27 batters down. No hits, no walks, no errors.
I'm all over the place on this. The one thing I have always loved about baseball is the imperfectness of the umpire's call. It's what makes me yell and scream and pull my hair out at baseball games. It's what brings the manager out and has him kicking sand at the feet of the ump. So many great images I have in my head of baseball ARE the managers and umps yelling at each other.
Now, in other sports, instant replay to me, is a must. But I do not want to see it in baseball. Just the other night, it was used twice to review possible goals in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals. One became a goal after the game continued (because the review can't start until play stops), and they had to put the minutes back up on the clock. The other hit the post and slid along the goal line, never crossing it, and so it was not a goal (but damn sure looked like one when it was viewed live, without the benefit of instant replay).
The way the parties involved in this unfortunate bad call have acted could not be more generous and magnanimous, where it could have turned out bitter and ugly. The whole of baseball knows that Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game. What's even more amazing is that although this doesn't count in the record books, three perfect games were pitched in approximately one month this season. That, in and of itself, is a record.
2 comments:
Awww, you're just a purist.
Seriously, I have to agree, when it comes to expanded replay in baseball. Bad calls, bone-headed plays, and impossible luck are part of the game and the lore just as much as the skill and precision. This game will join that history.
Replay a homerun call when necessary, I suppose, but that's about it.
I guess it's part of what we call growing old. Although, baseball has to a certain extent remained relatively true to its origins. I hated free agency, and still do, in any sport. I understand certain aspects of it, but the way it has morphed, its ruined sports across the board. I think a person who signs for a team is owned by the team, especially the fans, who foot the bills. I long for the days when each and every year, you know the starting lineup, not to mention all the players. I miss pitchers who pitched the entire game. If that makes me a purist, oh well!
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