Baseball must add replay to avoid more ‘imperfect’ games
Armando Galarraga smiles at the absurdity of umpire Jim Joyce's call.
It’s funny how baseball gets picked on sometimes for being like the stodgy old coot on the front porch who never wants to see anything change. Fact is, when the sport does make a change, it usually gets it wrong.
It instituted the sport’s first full-time part-time player (designated hitter) and then compounded this mistake by sticking it in only one league. It foolishly tried to add meaning to the All-Star Game by giving the winning league home field advantage in the World Series. And, of course, the one time owners actually were unified and determined to change baseball’s economic system, they colluded. Not smart. Also not legal.
Well, baseball does need to change one thing. Now. It needs to add television replay to make up for the human mistakes of umpires.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga threw a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians Wednesday night. The only guy who didn’t realize it was first base umpire Jim Joyce, who will not be remembered as fondly as James Joyce.
On what should have been the 27th out following the 27th Indians’ batter of the game, this is what happened: Jason Donald hit a ground ball to first base. The Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera fielded it to his right. He tossed the ball to Galarraga, who clearly got to the base before Donald. The side view at the end of the video below will show you just how close this play wasn’t.
Take a look:
People make mistakes, and to Joyce’s credit, he admitted his blunder: “I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.”
But the problem is that baseball’s officiating crews have a history of being the most obstinate, arrogant and even obnoxious of the four sports’ officials.
Too many umps believe they are the show. This is not a new observation. It’s just too accurate and has gone on for too long.
Baseball umpires don’t want controversial replays shown on stadium video boards because it might make them look bad. They hated it when officials started using technology analysis of ball-and-strike calls with things like “QuecTec” and “Zone Evaluation.”
Football uses replay to correct mistakes all the time on the most crucial of plays: touchdowns and fumbles. Hockey uses replay to confirm (or negate) goals. Basketball uses replay to adjust time remaining on the play clock. Baseball is stuck in the era of the sundial.
If it takes an embarrassment like this to convince baseball to add replay for close calls — and force umpires to bury their egos — then at least the sport finally will have moved forward.
But Galarraga will still have to settle for throwing baseball’s most perfect imperfect game.
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159 comments Add your comment
spokybob
June 3rd, 2010
9:23 am
Bad call. Done is done. Don’t be changing things after the game is finished. That would be foolishness.
andrew horne
June 3rd, 2010
9:32 am
The Ump should do the right thing and take his own life!
Old Snarky
June 3rd, 2010
9:35 am
Go back and change the ruling which obviously was wrong. The guy was out by a ‘mile’. Why rob that young man of something he worked hard all evening for. Its just plain stupid. I have never seen so many blown calls in my life in sports. Where are these guys getting their license to officiate. Blown calls should and could be changed. Its just no big deal, but it is a huge deal to that pitcher.
If the commissioner of Baseball has any gall, he will change that ruling. It certainly won’t affect the outcome of the game. Enough poor officiating is enough period!!
Poorbrave
June 3rd, 2010
9:41 am
Its time Umps have to get it right. I watch a couple games a day on MLB and you will see 1 are 2 missed calls. Almost at least one a game that could influence the out come of game. It sucks that MLB has the worse umpire system of all sports..they think their sh#@ don’t stink!They’re not God as they believe. Thank the Unions for this BS.
Michael
June 3rd, 2010
9:45 am
Jeff, does Selig have the authority to overturn the call and award the perfect game? Of course he’d never do it because he’s a spineless idiot, but I’d at least like to know that he could if he wanted to.
cricket
June 3rd, 2010
9:50 am
Agree with Najeh Davenpoop. Baseball can look at cricket to implement replays without slowing the game. Current system of replays should be changed.
John K
June 3rd, 2010
9:52 am
Hate instant replay. Bad calls, doctoring the ball, corking the bat and the infield fly rule – all part of what makes the game great. A friend of mine had a great fish on the line and lost it five feet from the net. He wasn’t sorry. He said, “I’ve caught a lot of fish, but this is the one I’ll remember.” Same as a bad call – this is the one we will remember.
Tech Sucks
June 3rd, 2010
10:01 am
That is one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen… 20 perfect games in the HISTORY of the world and this would have been 21 and this guy makes that call?
That is unforgivable. They have to institute replay.
GET THE CALL RIGHT. That’s all that matters.
the real Old Gold
June 3rd, 2010
10:05 am
This is a case where all 3 parties agree the game was perfect. The umpire who blew the call, the Tigers and the team who was the victim of the Perfect Game. So where is the justification for leaving the game as is?
There needs to be a system in place to review calls of this magnitude.
BP
June 3rd, 2010
10:09 am
There is no reason baseball can’t do replay the way college football does it. Have an official in the booth who looks at the close plays (not balls and strikes, but certainly game changing plays) on a HD tv and signal down if it should be reversed. The umps wouldn’t have to leave the field and the review would be finished before the manager and players finish arguing with the ump.
PMC
June 3rd, 2010
10:11 am
Bad calls happen, they are human after all…. see Kent Hrbeck 1991.
I don’t see why they can’t just give the plate ump a radio and have a booth umpire that can flag a call if it’s obvious like that. It shouldn’t take a conference… just get the call right.
PMC
June 3rd, 2010
10:12 am
That said… with what 3 perfect games this year… that blown call is more of an interesting story than another perfect game today.
smokemonster
June 3rd, 2010
10:40 am
Jack is the Smokemonster
Road Scholar
June 3rd, 2010
11:01 am
Haven’t read the above posts, but:
1. They should change the call.
2. eliminate the out the guy who hit behind the the player who was called safe (he should like it for his average)
3. If not fire, suspend the umpire for a substantial amount of time.
Where were the other umps? The crew cheif? It’s about tim we not only preach responsibility , but also practice it!!! If the pither had a clause in his contract for performance, such as a no hitter, the club should pay it immediately.
atleagle
June 3rd, 2010
11:03 am
Bad calls happen but the essence of this is did he intentionally miss the call or if he really missed it maybe its time to retire. Another thing….you would have thought even the ump’s get sharper when calling an on-going perfect game.
Zach
June 3rd, 2010
11:08 am
who is this kid donald? I mean good for you that you got a hit and all, and good for you that you that you’re in the bigs, and good for you for running hard. BUT THIS WAS A PERFECT GAME! And who takes second and third. What a crappy move on the part of this guy.
heartofdarkness
June 3rd, 2010
11:17 am
Why is an umpire’s fallibility less a part of baseball than that of the players, the managers, and, for that matter, everyone in attendance at the game? Suppose Jason Donald hit a long fly to the right field wall, and that stinking little truant, latter a distinguished Ivy League baseball player, Jeffery Maier was sitting in the front row with his stinking little glove, which he promptly used to reach into the field of play and snatch the last out. Home run for Donald; another opportunity to appreciate the genius of Rudyard Kipling’s “If” for mankind.
A perfect game requires everything to be perfect, including somethings beyond our control.
ole smoky
June 3rd, 2010
11:17 am
It’s simple…. Fire the Umpire
heartofdarkness
June 3rd, 2010
11:19 am
Okay, Maier played for Wesleyan, not in the Ivies. Sorry.
Time
June 3rd, 2010
11:21 am
There is precedent for going back into the record books and changing things. Many no hitters were stricken from the record books for various reasons about a decade ago. Selig should waste no time in changing the record book here.
And yes, it’s well beyond time for instant replay. Schultz is right in his statements about how arrogant the umpires have become. I was mortified that Joyce, nor the crew chief, bothered to call a conference with the umps to even see if one of the other umps had a good enough view of it to definitively tell Joyce that he was wrong. The call could have been fixed right there.
Too much money, guys careers and shots at history on the line for games and or historic events to be decided by blown umpire calls.
scott
June 3rd, 2010
11:29 am
What I dont understand is why people are calling for this umpires head. 1. He admitted his mistake. 2. It was not and easy call…he was not out by a mile. It was a half step at best, a tenth of a second. 3. Reverse the call, every party involved says it was a perfect game there is no harm in reversing the call. 4. THE BRAVES ARE FREAKIN AWESOME… Vote Heyward and Prado for the allstar team!
scott
June 3rd, 2010
11:30 am
*an easy call
stevek
June 3rd, 2010
11:41 am
he bobbled the ball. the call was correct even though for the wrong reason.
jeffrey d
June 3rd, 2010
11:47 am
In a 2006 survey of baseball players (the most recent I could find) Joyce was ranked 2nd best umpire. How about we not judge him forever based on one missed split-second close call?
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/players/06/20/poll.0620/
GTSteve
June 3rd, 2010
12:02 pm
I have a better argument or conversation…why was there 17 perfect games in 129 or so years, and 4 (if you count last night) in the last calendar year……does that mean steroids are finally out of the sport???
eric the elder
June 3rd, 2010
12:12 pm
Instant replay is called for, but there will be problems. E.g.,
Runner on second. Batter hits grounder and is called safe at first. Firstbaseman turns to argue the call. Runner rounds third and scores.
Instant replay shows the batter was out. Does the runner still score?
We can all think of dozens of such farfles. Instant replay would require a whole bunch of new baseball rules.
jesse james
June 3rd, 2010
12:26 pm
Somebody said fire the umpire. Well do you fire every umpire that misses a call? God alot of them would be gone. I agree the situation was big but it is no different than a call that cost a kid a major league career because he didn’t get a call. Let’s just get robots and let them call the games. It is easy to blast the umpire and want him fired, but some of us probably need to look in the mirror and our boss could fire us for a job we screwed up. Bottom line is that alot could be learned by the actions of Gallaraga, Curt Shillings comments and even Jim Leyland. That way we might not have fights at little league games, drive by shootings, carjackings and even some of these crooked politics that has cost this country greatly.
Trade Nate for a Bag of Balls to the Mets
June 3rd, 2010
12:27 pm
yeah on Double plays half the SS or 2B baseman dont even touch the base they just have to be close to the bag.
It sucks for him but he should reverse it. We all know that Selig does not have the guts. I think Goodell, Stern and bettman would change the call
jesse james
June 3rd, 2010
12:28 pm
Scott – I forgot to say you are right and show the most common sense in handling the situation. You ever thought of running for President or even takeover BP Oil.
Trade Nate for a Bag of Balls to the Mets
June 3rd, 2010
12:31 pm
Why it is so hard to have someone in the booth to review all the calls. I would gladly sit behind a tv and watch all the plays. And if a mistake is made I would radio it down to the field.
Richard
June 3rd, 2010
12:39 pm
If MLB needs a precedent for changing the call, don’t forget about George Brett’s retroactive “pine tar” home run. A different class of situation (that turned on the rules surrounding a bat challenge)… but they even went so far as to resume the game at a later date (unnecessary here).
Fred
June 3rd, 2010
12:40 pm
What I don’t understand is – if Jim Joyce knew at the time he had made a mistake, why did he not simply call the umps together and overturn his call right then and there? They have the authority don’t they? If Joyce thought he had it right until he saw the replay, then that in itself should cement the argument to use replay, but I still don’t see why it was not overturned at the time.
Zach
June 3rd, 2010
12:59 pm
fred,when have you ever seen umps confer on a out/safe call at first base? It’s kinda like them conferring on a ball/strike call without a check swing.
Mr. Phil
June 3rd, 2010
1:07 pm
I don’t want to hear nothing about baseball reviewing bad calls until Braves fans receive proper reparations for the World Series debacle against the Twins. For God sake Kent Allen Hrbek lifted Ron Gant off the base before tagging him out. Literally lifted!
To heck with a perfect game ( little more than a personal accomplishment for one player) but a whole city was slapped in the face during the World Series.
Tron5000
June 3rd, 2010
1:07 pm
Football uses replay on a lot more than just “touchdowns and fumbles,” Mr. Schultz. How far into MLB should we allow replay to creep? Do we use it on all safe/out calls at a base, or only those in the 9th inning? Are balls and strikes reviewable? How about trapped balls? Is each team alloted a certain amount of challenges, or is there a replay official who instigates the review? How do you deal with runners who could’ve advanced but didn’t, thinking a play or inning was over? I’d be interested to hear your plan for replay in MLB, Mr. Schultz.
Mr. Phil
June 3rd, 2010
1:09 pm
@Jesse James
Yes. Fire every umpire that misses an obvious call.
Ed
June 3rd, 2010
1:14 pm
I’ve watched the replay a dozen times, and am convinced that it was the official scorer, not the ump, who blew the call. It looks clear to me that Galarraga was bobbling the ball. He sort of snow-coned it, it shifted in his glove, and he didn’t secure it fully until the runner was past the base. I think the runner was safe. It should have been an E-1 and a no-hitter after Galarraga retired the next batter, but not a perfect game.
Rick
June 3rd, 2010
1:23 pm
Fred, Joyce didn’t know he made the mistake until after the game when he saw the replay.
MLB simply needs to expand the current video replay rule to include other plays at the discretion of the crew chief. This would allow a manager, like Leyland last night, to ask the crew chief to review the play, just like they do for questionable home runs. Problem solved. Now, you would hope that even the most egotisical ump would not oppose having his call reviewed, especially one that could potentially take a perfect game away. Think about all the calls in the ALCS last year that would have been corrected if such a system were in place. Besides, having challenges is just silly. If a call needs to be reviewed, review it. Give the umps a chance to police themselves, and if that doesn’t work, then implement some sort of automatic review process (similar to college football). Obviously, balls and strikes would not be reviewable.
Ed
June 3rd, 2010
1:24 pm
“If I had been Galarraga, I would have been the first person in my face,” said a dismayed Joyce after the game, “and he never said a word to me.”
That’s because Galarraga knows that he didn’t secure the ball before the runner tagged the base. Look at the replay, and not only do you see a slight bobble, but you see Galarraga check his glove to see if he even had the ball. I think Galarraga’s first reaction was that he committed an error and blew his own perfect game. He should have a no-hitter – 27 batters retired, 1 batter reached on an error.
jesse james
June 3rd, 2010
1:58 pm
Mr. Phil – Have you seen the play live? It is not obvious. It was a close call. I believe he was not in the best position to make the call. Do you fire the umpire in the first, third, or nineth inning? Do you have eight alternates at each game? I mean if you are going and fire him do it when it happens, don’t beat around the bush. Let’s please these fans. I’m glad the players can put it behind them. At this time it is a part of the game and you have to accept it.
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 3rd, 2010
2:03 pm
For those who say that MLB has the worst officiating in sports, can you tell me what is a foul or traveling or palming the ball, in the NBA?
Producer
June 3rd, 2010
2:03 pm
MLB should review and reverse this crap immediately! Enough of incompetent refs in all of the sports. Instant replay is just what is necessary in this instance. Make it right!!!!!!!
Fred
June 3rd, 2010
2:06 pm
Rick, thanks for the clarification. I agree wholeheartedly with your proposal. Unfortunately, much like with our government, those ideas which appear to be the most logical are the ones with a snowballs chance of being implemented!
Daisy
June 3rd, 2010
2:17 pm
I hate professional sports, and this is part of the reason. Let’s do away with replays in all sports!.
The emphasis in professional sports is no longer on sports, its on entertainment.
Sports are a game, simply a game, nothing more than a game. No one will loose their life or children depending on the outcome of a game. Games are played by humans and humans make mistakes; players make mistakes, coachs make mistakes, AND officials make mistakes. Its part of the the “game;” get over it. Would you want lazer beams from a computer calling balls and strikes and being 100% correct all the time? I think not; ragging the umpire is part of the game. If we are gonna let machines take over sports, why not get rid of humans all together and just watch virtual sports.
Over the years professional sports have been juiced for the entertainment value. The players, equipment and rules have been juiced. As an example, professional wrestling has no resemblance to the true sport of wrestling in college and high school. Similar argument for hockey; who would attend if not for an etertaining fight or two? Granted, professional baseball is a couple of steps above professiona wrestling, but the NBA and NFL is only one step above. Evidently, greater entertainment value is accomplished by greater offense. Ergo, the powers that be have seen to it that there are more points, homeruns, touchdowns and baskets than there should be. Baseball scores should not look like slow-pitch softball; total football scores should never be over 100; and basketball teams should never routinely score 100 each.
Entertainment value: what would be the attendance at games if you could no longer buy a beer?
Ramblin Wrecker
June 3rd, 2010
2:20 pm
Talking about adding more instant replay should be instituted in MLB is an overreaction. The real answer is for MLB to create a more collaborative environment among umpire crews. So often one umpire will make a controversial call (other than ball/strikes) and refuse to consult with the other three umpires or the other umpires won’t assert themselves with a colleague to correct a mistake. That is a simple way to have avoided last night’s lost perfect game. I think Jim Joyce has shown himself to be a man of integrity. Do you not think that if MLB made it part of the culture of umpires to consult the rest of the crew on questionable plays that Joyce would not have welcomed that input and changed the call on the field? I feel like full blown replay could be avoided if umpires were required to get calls right as a crew rather than hang one guy out to live and die based on a split second play.
Legend of Len Barker
June 3rd, 2010
2:25 pm
Enter your comments here
Legend of Len Barker
June 3rd, 2010
2:32 pm
Probably way too late, but BlindAsABat, I’m quoting myself here:
“Someone mentioned Hrbek. That was not in game seven. It was in either game one or two as there was a huge banner at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium declaring “Hrbek is a jrk” in game three.”
I checked some 1991 newspaper archives. It was in game two. Which I also do not say was in Atlanta. Check the last sentence. It says the banner was in the stadium in game three.
FredFlinstone
June 3rd, 2010
2:48 pm
I dont know why baseball has taken so long to incorporate Instant Replay. If IR was in place the other day when Andres “The Big Cat” Galarrage was on the mound, he would have gotten a perfect game”. The umps blew the game and an apology doesnt do any good. Baseball had a chance yesterday to #1) put a close on the steroid era by having an historic season (w/at least 3 perfect games so far) and #2) finally implement IR and get the crucial controversial calls under control. Football has it and it was worked well, although the ridiculous CHALLENGES waste an inordinate amount of time. Baseball should have gotten this right way ahead of any other sport. Now “The Big Cat” may go his entire career or even his entire lifetime for that matter without ever getting another one. What a sad day for baseball and it came on the day that (major leagues best player ever) George Kenneth Griffey retired grabing the spotlight from Ken and completely OVERSHADOWING THE GREAT KEN GRIFFEYS RETIREMENT. So actually yesterday there were TWO BLACK MARKS ON BASEBALL. #1) Griffeys retirement went literally unnoticed (in light of the fact that he was the games best player ever) and #2) A young man (Galarraga) was cheated out of a perfect game because Bud Selig and baseball continues to run a modern game using primitive (ancient, archeaic dinasour rules). Sad day for baseball.
Gen Neyland
June 3rd, 2010
3:08 pm
Snap and click. Commissioner Slive has offered the ump in question a job ref’n SEC football games…
Taylor Hanson
June 3rd, 2010
3:10 pm
Let’s see how long we can make a baseball game.