ESPN Is Releasing A Documentary On The Armando Galarraga-Jim Joyce Near-Perfect Game And It's Crazy There Are STILL People That Think MLB Should Go Back And Retroactively Give Galarraga A Perfect Game

I saw this tweet floating around this weekend for ESPN's new E60 Documentary covering the perfect game that wasn't. We all remember Armando Galarraga's almost perfect game in 2010, 26 up and 26 down that should have ended with a grounder to first that Miguel Cabrera fielded and made the throw in plenty of time. Only for 1st base umpire Jim Joyce to butcher the call and have a massive brainfart. Out by 6 inches, called him safe. 

The amount of backlash Joyce received was unreal, people wanted the guy dead, fired, they wanted him gone. He messed up what would have been a perfect game for a pitcher who never came close to having that success again in his career. It's a touching story as Galarraga didn't bitch, he didn't yell, he didn't push. After the "safe" call was made Galarraga just smiled at Joyce. 

He knew he messed up the call, everyone did. The next day Joyce was the home plate umpire and was greeted by Galarraga as they exchanged lineup cards. Joyce had tears running down his face as Galarraga patted Joyce on the shoulder. Before the game Tigers Manager Jim Leyland stood up for Joyce and asked that the fans not make his life a living hell and to let it go. It really was a cool moment at home plate. 

Both guys seemed to move on but it's still brought up time and time again, should MLB go ahead and award Armando Galarraga a perfect game and to me that is crazy. Absolutely bat shit crazy. 

I get wanting to reward Galarraga for his incredible day on the mound, only 24 perfect games have been thrown in MLB History, but this is just how life goes. Jim Joyce messed up the call. It was blatantly clear he got it wrong. What the umpires should have done right then and there was huddle together and say "he messed up, it's an out. Game over." Do it right there in the moment, don't waste anytime. They didn't, and the play wasn't reviewable so they just ended the game. They shouldn't have. We've seen it when umpires huddle and talk and reverse a call, that should have been done here but it wasn't. That's the end of the story.

When Reggie Bush got his Heisman back you had everyone aggregator account on Twitter saying "Now do Armando Galarraga and give him the perfect game". That isn't how this works. Life isn't fair and this is how the cookie crumbled. Galarraga is now probably more famous and more well known for being the guy who had the perfect snatched from him. But the fact of the matter is we're not going to go back 14 years and decide to give this guy a different result just because people want to. You can't go back in time and change the outcome, he did earn the perfect game but the call was made and it wasn't reversed. 

We can't go back in time and give out a pass interference in the Rams - Saints game, you can't go back in time and say that Jeffrey Maier basically stole a World Series from the Orioles in 1996. It's a shitty and wrong outcome but that is sports. That is what you get with the human element of umpiring and referees. He knew he blew it instantly, everyone in the ballpark knew it…but that happens in sports, specifically baseball. Guy blows a strike call and we all know he got it wrong, but you accept his call and you move on. It opens up a massive rabbit hole to go back and fix things in sports history that were wrong, we can't do that. The absolute best thing we got from this situation was the humility and show of emotion from Jim Joyce and Armando. 

Galarraga could have and should have ripped Joyce's head off then screamed at him until he lost his voice. He didn't. He understood a mistake was made and he accepted it. We can't go back and give the 1985 Cardinals the World Series because of that blown call.

Again, the umps should have talked right there on the field and reversed it. I think Cleveland's manager would have accepted that, he knew the call was made wrong. Missed calls have a place in sports history, this is one of them. Umpires also have to be perfect in a perfect game, not just the pitcher. 

It sucks for Galarraga but his umpire wasn't perfect that day, even though he was. Like I said before, he's much more well known for this than throwing a perfect game. You know the name Armando Galarraga, but you barely remember Phil Humber. It is a slippery, slippery slope if you decide to go back and award stuff like this, can't start opening that box now. That's just how life goes. We know he did it, Joyce knows he did it, but you can't go back and retroactively award it. It sucks but that is just how it goes, now he can say he's the only man with a 28 out perfect game, that's fine with me. Either way this should be a very good, informative and interesting show this weekend.