Thursday Take-Twos (Near Perfect “G” Edition)

Robbed of a perfect game: Armando Galaragga. First base umpire, Jim Joyce, made a huge, historical mistake in yesterday’s game between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians. Joyce ruled base runner, Jason Donald, safe in the ninth inning on an infield slap to second base. The Indians’ slugger became the first player to reach base and the one to break up Detroit hurler Galaragga’s perfect game bid. In what should have sealed the third perfect game thrown this season, Joyce clearly missed the call. Donald was definitely the 27th out recorded when Galaragga received the throw from his second baseman, Miguel Cabrera and tagged the bag at first. There weren’t any signs of a bobbled ball, slipped footing or beaten base runner. It was a blown call that prevented the Tigers’ starter from becoming the 21st pitcher to toss a perfect game.
Joyce’s blunder brings to light the idea of instant replay in baseball. Installing instant replay would most certainly have overturned last night’s ninth inning gaffe. Traditionalists are hesitant to implement instant replay and it’s going to take an incredible amount of people to trust technology in order to have it become a part of baseball. Baseball is one of the last sports to rely on instant replay. So far, it hasn’t made much of a difference, but last night it did. The state of major league umpiring is also brought into question. These critical decision-makers are often the source of poor and puzzling calls. Boos continued to reign down on the officiating crews throughout the game because the blue and white uniformed men are sometimes more influential than the players themselves in the outcome of the contest. Personally, I was against instant replay in baseball for the same reason most fans of the original pastime were against it. I like having the game be more humanized. However, we all know humans are far from perfect. Even umpires make bad calls. Therefore, the system needs to account for human error if it spells the difference between perfection and near perfection.
Speaking of near perfection, it’s only fitting that Ken Griffey, Jr. retired on the anniversary of Lou Gehrig’s death and on a day where a pitcher was thisclose to being perfect. Griffey’s 22 year career made him a superstar and role model in his own right. The Kid was a brilliant outfielder and tremendous hitter, who unfortunately was plagued with injuries late in his career. Griffey helped salvage the slumping Seattle franchise in the 1990s. Number 24 was always a favorite of mine growing up, and I’ve talked about his legacy in this blog before. I used to have a 6x8 poster of the centerfielder on my bedroom wall, and I have countless baseball cards of Griffey. Junior, the number one overall pick in the 1987 draft, was a throwback player ever since he picked up his first career hit. The former Cincinnati Red and Chicago Whitesox made a name for himself with the Mariners, where he clubbed 417 homeruns. The 13 time All-Star finished with 613 taters (fifth on the all-time list) Griffey’s left knee slowed him down in the latter part of his Hall-of-Fame career, but there hasn’t been a classier example of an athlete that I can remember since Gehrig. Griffey was a team player who played with heart and dedication. He will truly be missed by this 27 year old fan who grew up idolizing him as a ballplayer.

Parting Points: It’s time to break out the Beck CDs for summer.