Armando Galarraga Loses Perfect Game On Blown Call; MLB Meeting To Discuss Incident

One of the (many) unique things about baseball is that there is often little time to dwell on the previous day’s events, be they positive or negative. Whether a player hit a game-winning home run or booted a routine ground ball, more often than not, he has to put on his uniform and do it all again the next day, for a whole new ballgame. The same idea of a clean slate, 162 days a year, applies to pitchers who came within one out of a perfect game, and the umpire who blew a call that prevented that perfect game from occurring.

And such was the case on Thursday in Detroit. Roughly just 17 hours after the new infamous call at first base, umpire Jim Joyce was back on the field at Comerica Park (he’s working behind the plate in today’s game), receiving the lineup card from Armando Galarraga (a task normally reserved for the team’s manager).

However, commissioner Bud Selig did say that, while he is taking no action on the call today, he does plan on evaluating the possibility of expanding the use of instant replay, according to Darren Rovell.

Selig said he would make his decision after consulting with the owners, the Players Union and the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, according to Rovell.

Armando Galarraga may still get the perfect game he deserves after all.

There is no clear indication of how involved Bud Selig is in the meeting, or if they’re even considering overturning Jim Joyce’s blown call and awarding Galarraga a perfect game. But the assumption would be that they’re discussing something along those lines after calling for an emergency meeting.

Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga pitched an amazing game on Wednesday night. He struck out only three Indians in nine innings, but he was efficient, throwing just 88 pitches on the night and walking none. Thanks to Jim Joyce, he was not perfect.

Randy Booth at Over The Monster appreciates the situation and what went wrong but he believes the decision shouldn’t be updated to reflect a perfect game…because it wasn’t.

To say Al over at Detroit blog Bless You Boys is miffed about Armando Galaragga’s lost opportunity at a perfect game would be an understatement. He understands that Jim Joyce is repentant but that’s still not enough.

The Indians were on the losing side of this contest. Cleveland blog Let’s Go Tribe! says the game will be remembered for a long time but not for the right reasons.

Reading what Jim Joyce said after tonight’s game is one thing, but to hear his words is another.

Click here to listen to all of Joyce’s comments after the game.

SB Nation’s Bless You Boys has written a letter to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig with a simple message: reverse the call and officially make this a perfect game:

HardballTalk also takes a look at the possibility of Selig overturning the call and allowing the perfect game.

Ken Griffey Jr. retired today. Ken Griffey Jr. One of the greatest and most beloved players in the history of baseball. He’s called it a career. And on the day of Ken Griffey Jr.‘s retirement, the news has been upstaged.

Not by a perfect game. No, a perfect game couldn’t have done it. Not another one. We’ve already seen two of them in two months, with a no-hitter to boot. Perfect games are old hat.

For tonight, Jim Joyce has just become the greatest villain in the sports world and the prime example for those advocating for expanded replay in baseball. That’s not something that’s bound to make a umpire feel good, and accordingly Joyce is in a bad place.

According to reporter Dave Hogg, Joyce has owned up to his error and feels none too pleased about it.

A fair warning for Tigers fans: this video (via Jose, of course) shows the top of the ninth inning in its entirety. Everything from Austin Jackson’s ridiculous catch in center to Mike Redmond’s ground out to short to Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base on Jason Donald’s grounder. Trevor Crowe’s final out is also included, but that seems somewhat inconsequential, no?

Oh, and Tigers fans: if this video isn’t for you right now, head over to Bless You Boys, where you can vent some of your frustrations.

Detroit’s Armando Galarraga was one out away from tossing a perfect game against the Indians Wednesday night. Jason Donald, Cleveland’s No. 9 hitter, hit a weak ground ball in-between first and second, drawing Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera away from the bag, meaning Galarraga had to race to cover.

Cabrera fielded the ball cleanly, and tossed it Galarraga, hitting him in stride as the pitcher stepped on the bag a half-step before Donald. Unfortunately for Galarraga, the Tigers and the Tigers fans, umpire Jim Joyce saw it differently.