Behold, the imperfect call that killed a perfect game.
Everyone’s pissed at Jim Joyce, the MLB umpire who made one hell of a bad call and kept Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga from achieving the first perfect game in the club’s history.
“I just cost that kid a perfect game,” Joyce told ESPN.
But he was more than contrite. This lead from The Detroit News: “Jim Joyce was like a person at fault in an accident scene, his emotional state chaotic and distraught.”
And of course, Twitter was alive. User @aastleford tweeted: “I couldn’t name the past three perfect games w/o researching. If anything, last night’s event will live longer. Sad. #jimjoyce.”
@RecruiterStacy, an ESPN Media Production recruiter, had this to say: “Ok, I didnt feel bad for him last night, but now I feel so bad for Jim Joyce. Poor thing. Let’s all forgive him.”
We agree. That poor man needs a group hug. So does this guy. Hmm, I wonder where they could get one of those?
Should baseball install instant-replay? Check out Josh Levin’s piece over at Slate.
—Seth Putnam