Thursday, June 3, 2010

The Perfect Game that Wasn't...What it means for Major League Baseball

Yesterday, an unfortunate circumstance took place as Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game after umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on what would have been the 27th out of a perfect game.

What should be acknowledged first is the conduct of both Joyce and Galarraga during and after this highly disputed incident. Jim Joyce stood his ground on the field and made a call he believed in his mind was true, and stood there and took abuse from several Tigers including the manager as he walked off the field after the next out. Joyce, after viewing the replay after the game, admitted his mistake, said he blew it, and apologized to all parties involved, including a personal apology to Galarraga. He handled the situation better than anybody could have ever imagined.

Other pitchers would scream and yell and kick dirt after being denied a perfect game after a call like that, but not Galarraga. He did not utter one word to Joyce after the call was made. He calmly walked back to the mound and finished his job and got the next hitter out. He didn't walk around the mound, pout, yell, or look over. He conducted himself better than anyone could have imaged.

Now the debate begins. As MLB Commissioner Bud Selig has stated today, the call will not be overturned and a perfect game will not be rewarded to Galarraga, as it should be. If you overturn a call from the past, you open it up to review every other questionable call that has ever been made. However, the commissioner did say he will examine the current system that is in place. Human error has been and always will be apart of baseball. Bad calls are made in almost every game played. What MLB should be, and is committed to is limiting those calls as much as possible. In order to do that, some sort of instant replay should be implemented. That is what instant replay is for, it is to right a wrong caused by a inadvertent human mistake. Jim Joyce did not blow this call on purpose. Nobody makes bad calls on purpose. Instant replay is there to right a wrong, it is not there to be a detriment to the game or to take the human element out of the game.

The other question is if we have instant replay, what do we limit it to and how do we conduct it? Do we replay balls, strikes, and checked swings? No. Do we replay home runs, fair/foul, and base plays? We should. Home run replay was implemented last year after the All-Star break. The umpires huddle together and decide whether or not to look at a replay. Whether or not they review a play or not is solely the umpires discretion. The current replay system should be expanded to include fair/foul plays, and plays on the bases. Umpires will continue to make the calls, and if there is a questionable call and a manager comes out to argue, it will solely be the umpires discretion as to whether or not to use instant replay to review the play. If the umpire feels there is no need go to replay, there will be no replay. No matter how much the manager or coach or player kicks and screams about a play, the decision on whether or not to use instant replay will be at the discretion of the umpire.

Will this slow down the game? No it will not. Managers will continue to argue questionable calls and umpires will continue to give them their explanations. If an umpire is not sure, the argument will be much shorter, the umpires will review the play, and the right call will be made. This is the only way we can get the game to be as correct as possible. All any fan, team, or player can ever want is for the umpires to get the calls right, and this is the best way to get it right.

Comments

1 comment:

  1. MLB should move into the 21 st century & implement some type of replay. Maybe like tennis where u get a certain # of challenges. I believe Calarraga should be given the perfect game

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