Thread: Umpire Jim Joyce ruins Detroit P Armando Galarraga's perfect game

While understanding you can't go back and change things that have happened, acceptance that umpire error is just part of the game is a pathetic. It is a completely fixable and completely unneccessary part of the game.

Some of the arguments against are pretty lame as well, such as length of game. Expanding replays to a limited amount of on-field calls wouldn't add more than ten minutes to a game. These are the simplest kind of calls in all sports. Either the ball got there first or the runner did. Somewhere along the line 2 hour games have turned into 4 hour games but MLB has done next to nothing to change it yet wants to use length of game as an excuse to not drag itself into the 21st century.

Personally, I'd go further and take balls & strikes away from the umps. Some of whom are professionals but just as many are more than willing to change the zone per their whim, tightening up during certain times of the game, for certain pitchers, because they feel the game should be coming to a conclusion, because they are tired or hung over. A lot of these guys have egos that end up swaying the outcome of the games in subtle but decisive ways. If thats part of the game, its the very worst part.

Originally Posted by Fisticuffs82

This umpire isn't Jim Joyce but it is along the lines of 'umpires making bad calls/decisions,' from the Angels @ Royals game yesterday:
Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | LAA@KC: Yost is ejected after exchange with Estabrook - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia.
Umpires and referees always talk about not wanting to be shown up and this guy goes out and completely shows up the catcher. I guess he over-reacted with Scioscia earlier in the game as well...

The ump was totally showing up the catcher. I bet nothing really happens to that ump. See, I have a problem with the umpires not being held to the same standard as players, like how the players cant touch umpires (which I agree with) but umps can touch/hold back players.

Baseball sucks.

Originally Posted by Fisticuffs82

Galarraga brings lineup to tearful Joyce: Galarraga brings lineup to tearful Joyce | MLB.com: News

I think it's a great moment for Professional Baseball, if not for Professional Sports in general. It's obvious that Joyce made the wrong call... and he is probably the 1st guy on the list to realize the gravity of a perfect game, and I gotta believe that's why he was so emotional. He knows what he did, what the cost was, and for him to show up and face the music, was certainly a class act on his part, not to mention how Galarraga handeled it, the rest of the Detroit organization and even the fans...
It's a great read for any sports fan.

Ok forgive me for my ignorance of baseball rules but couldn't the crew chief have overturned the call at first?

Originally Posted by SloMo26

Ok forgive me for my ignorance of baseball rules but couldn't the crew chief have overturned the call at first?

Jim Joyce was the crew chief. What could have happened was A) all umpires get together and talk about and then make a call. B) Bud Selig (MLB Commissioner) can over turn the call and wipe out the last at bat but Selig is a douche so that wont happen.

When was the last time you saw the 4 umps get together on a call other than a hr video review? Doesn't happen.