Galarraga loses perfect game with 2 outs in 9th

Associated Press ^ | June 2, 2010 | LARRY LAGE

[Free ThinkerNY]

DETROIT (AP) -- Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers lost his bid for a perfect game Wednesday night with two outs in the ninth inning on a disputed call at first base. Replays appeared to show Cleveland hitter Jason Donald was out.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland immediately argued the call with first base umpire Jim Joyce, and was joined by several Detroit players who surrounded the ump after the Tigers beat the Indians 3-0.

[Comparative Advantage]

How would you propose fixing the increasingly widened strike zone for the Tigers pitcher as the game moved into the late innings tonight?

[Eddie01]

The ump watch the replay and admitted his mistake publically.

He even went into the locker room to apologise in person to Galarraga.

Nothing was bobbled.

[bobby.223]

from another MLB old timer I understand your thoughts. In a case of a 100% error such as this....I feel that in this instance it should be overturned. the game that we have revered for a long time will survive.

[Lancey Howard]

He probably likes the controversy.

Believe me, nobody in baseball wants this disgraceful black eye.
The commissioner needs to move FAST.

[whence911]

It will survive either way IMO. Can’t have the commissioner over ruling judgement calls. Change the rules, if you dare. Remember there are purists in the tens of millions.

[GnL]

You are right. After watching it again, he caught it ice cream cone style and then did a quick flick of the ball into the pocket. The way the network froze the frame at the moment of the catch made it appear to be a bit of a bobble, but now it looks legit to me.

[TankerKC]

I hate whining.

You must have a strange definition of whining.

[flintsilver7]

Human error cannot entirely be eliminated. We certainly shouldn’t be celebrating it as “part of the game,” as many do. Umpires already ignore the strikezone, which is defined in the rulebook. (Go check out http://www.brooksbaseball.net and look at the PitchFX page.) In certain situations, replay could certainly be used to rectify bad calls. Replay is already used on potential home runs. Why, if the bases are empty, could a call not be reviewed? You can’t suspend a play to review something if there are runners on. There is no reason why you can’t look at this play after the fact and get it right.

[dfwgator]

FYI, ESPN says ump said “I blew the call” over and over in a post-game interview.

He blew, alright.

[flintsilver7]

The strikezone is defined in the rulebook as the width of the plate from the knees to the midpoint between the shoulders and the belt (the “letters,” as it were). I have long been a proponent of automated balls and strikes (this can easily be done in real-time). There is no reason why the strikezone should expand over the course of a game, why veterans should get bigger zones, or anything of the sort.

[Comparative Advantage]

Fair enough.

[FlJoePa]

The umpire said in a post game interview that he thought the batter beat the ball to the bag. He admitted he blew the call.

[bobby.223]

I’m one of ‘em. I was one of those ‘stat guys’ as a kid who memorized all of ‘em without effort. (civics and such in school...not so good!!!).I just think that in a case like this....well, darn I feel bad for that young man hurling like that and then to have a perfecto taken from him. I bet if you polled the purists tonight...well, I’m thinking a lot of ‘em might be bending a bit, ONLY in cases like this. either way..MLB..still the greatest game God ever allowed on this earth.

[xp38]

In the 1992 World Series in one of the more spectacular defensive plays Toronto executed a triple play but the umpire ruled the final out safe. The players argued for a while but failed to change the umps mind. Replays showed the final tag out had been made and in a very rare instance the ump in a post game press conference admitted he blew the call however his call stood as it had to since changing it would have changed the whole order of the game now completed. It would have been only the second triple play in World Series history.

[whence911]

You can also do sensors in the bases to establish when the runner hits the base. Fox came close to doing the balls and strikes with their electronics last year in the playoffs. They showed ball placement against the strike zone and a diagram, of the player.

Baseball can do this, but it will take 20 years to get the purists and old-timers to stop yelling.

[bwc2221]

Jim Leyland, the Tigers manager, said Joyce told him the runner beat the throw (in his opinion).

I cannot understand why, considering it was a perfect game, Joyce didn't give the pitcher the benefit of the doubt. It was a 3-0 lead, so it wasn't like the game was on the line.

[whence911]

Terrible thing because he earned it. It was taken away unfairly. But the game is not always fair, no matter how much they try.

[WeatherGuy]

[bwc2221]

I hate the pants most players wear today.

[whence911]

There is a reason you can't do it. The call cannot be reviewed because it's against the rules. You can only review fair and foul home run calls near the foul polls.

Errors are not celebrated. The traditions of the game are held sacrosant by most real fans. Listen to the scereaming stiull about the designated hitter rule. And many don't like the replay rule. It is the tradtion of human umpires and a human game that is celebrated.