Poor Armando Galarraga
Poor Armando Galarraga. He pitched a game that was among the best ever the other day. But it wasn’t quite perfect. That was determined when umpire Jim Joyce blew a call at first base that would have been the 27th out.
A lot has been said about Joyce’s blown call the other day. People are calling for his head. But the 22 year veteran umpire is one of the best in the business. And to his credit he reviewed the tape, saw his mistake and apologized to Galarraga.
But should MLB Commissioner Bud Selig step in and change the call (as many people have been suggesting)? I say no.
1 – There is no replay rule for such a call. Changing the outcome of the game from a 1 hitter to a perfect game would be contrary to this rule. It’s one thing for the umpires to meet on the field and change a call. But for the commissioners office to change the call later based on a replay could only be done based on a protest. Which brings us to…
2 – The Tigers have not filed a protest on the call. A protest would require an inquiry by the commissioner’s office that may have led to a reversal of the call. But since there’s no protest there can’t be (or shouldn’t be) any such inquiry.
If the commissioner’s office does anything regarding this issue it should review the situation to determine if there is a role for a replay rule in such situations.
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