Our View: Baseball right to not overturn call

Armando Galarraga has reason to be disappointed. He’s only human. The Detroit Tigers pitcher last week threw what for a fleeting moment appeared to be the 21st perfect game in major league history, but he was robbed of that notable and distinct honor by a bad call by umpire Jim Joyce on what should have been the last play of the game.

For those not in the know, a perfect game comes after a pitcher gets out every single batter he faces throughout an entire game. Whereas a no-hitter can occur even when batters reach base — by way of walks, errors, fielder’s choices, etc. — a perfect game is much more difficult and, correspondingly, much more rare.

The saga of last Wednesday has circulated so much that even people with no interest in sports probably know it well. With two outs in the ninth inning and Galarraga closing in on history, a Cleveland batter hit a ground ball that appeared would end the game and give Galarraga his spot in history.

But Joyce, a veteran umpire, called the batter safe at first. Replays — and there have been so many replays in the week since — show the batter clearly was out.

As commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig has the ability to reverse the call, but opted not to. Good for Selig.

Although we are sympathetic to Galarraga, we know the human element always has affected the outcome of baseball games.

Even the best players strike out, drop fly balls and make ill-conceived mental mistakes. Umpires miss calls, whether it’s a quiet “ball four” in the early innings or a very public and obvious flub late in the game. An excited fan can reach over a fence and interfere with a ball that otherwise would have been caught by a player. Managers make bad decisions. Injuries to key players cause great teams to falter. Young players lack experience. Great players get old.

To the casual observer, baseball is about hitting, throwing, fielding. That same casual observer perhaps sees the game with only the most simplistic vision: team vs. team, man vs. man.

Yet in reality, baseball is a game based upon man’s many imperfections and his rather futile attempts to overcome them. Baseball is a perfect game played, umpired and watched by decidedly imperfect beings.

Selig was right to not overturn Joyce’s obvious and unfortunate missed call last week. And whereas limited instant replay is currently used to help judge home-run decisions, baseball would be wise to never add instant replay as an option to overturn on-field umpire calls.

The day baseball begins using instant replay to help make on-field umpiring decisions, we shall suggest pitching machines be used in lieu of relief pitchers. Why not filter even more human impurities from the game?

The Detroit-Cleveland game Wednesday had many correct calls by umpires, but one obvious mistake ruined a player’s shot at history. That is a sad and unfortunate side effect of baseball, one that has been present at every game throughout the sport’s history and always shall be.

Had a Detroit outfielder dropped an easy fly ball for the final out, would it pain us any more or less?

Umpire Jim Joyce is an imperfect being. He is human. Aren’t we all?

And that is the frustrating beauty of baseball.

Tags: our view, opinion