Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was robbed of a perfect game Wednesday night on a blown call at first base.
For the 27th out.
That's the last out.
Umpire Jim Joyce blew the easy call by three feet on the toss to first base to end the game.
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News puts it succinctly:
In this case, the game ain't over until Commissioner Bud Selig says it's over. Until the rules of baseball change, Selig is the only one who can put Armando Galarraga's perfect game back together, not just for Galarraga, the pitcher who should have had 27 up and 27 down. But for Jim Joyce, the umpire who blew the call on what should have been the 27th out.
Selig could do this today, should do this. Sometimes it is all right to play to the crowd. There are a lot of things Bud Selig can't fix with his best-interest-of-the-game powers. This one he can make right.
In the best interests of a perfect game.
It would be a fine variation of what Lee MacPhail, then the American League president, did with the Pine Tar Game, Yankees-Royals back in the 80s. George Brett did hit a home run with a bat that had too much pine tar on it. Technically, the umpires were right to basically take what turned out to be a game-winning home run from Brett out of the stands.
MacPhail said no. He invoked the spirit of the law in sports, not the letter of the law. He said that the rule about pine tar HADN'T been written to take game-winning home runs out of the stands. The home run stood. You bet it did. The Yankees and Royals came back later on a Monday afternoon and finished the game, which the Royals did end up winning.
Biggest blown call in history.
WFDS
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