One thing that folks aren't saying, and something that I kind of think is true, is that this is actually better for Galarragha. I know the thinking is counterintuitive, but think of it this way: The only other pitcher to have been robbed of what was essentially a perfect game was Harvey Haddix back in the day. Galarragha joins him in infamy, as a pitcher who threw a perfect game*. I'm just saying maybe it's not as bad as we are all making it out to be. It has already overshadowed Halliday and Braden's earlier efforts this season - who's to say it won't live on in?
Sorry but I don't agree with you at all. You play the game hard and to win, no one wants to be on the team that gets no-hit/perfect game thrown against, especially if you're the potential last batter in that game. No player in that situation is just going to give up his at bat for the sake of someone else's shot at history. Plus the game was still within reach at 3-0.
You can't compare the two situations. The Tigers won the game 3-0, what Galarraga got screwed on was an individual accomplishment. Football does not have an equal. There is no "Perfect Game" in any other sport except baseball.
Well said. The Tigers still won the game, unlike some other historical blown ump calls (like the 85 WS). If this wasn't a perfect game no one would have cared. Hell the same ump blew a play at first an inning earlier in the game that led to 2 more runs for the Tigers and no one is talking about that either. Case in point an ump blew the last play of the Twins/Mariners game and you didn't hear a thing about it either. The problem is simply bad umping.
They actually can retroacyively fix it. The MLB has been taking away no hitters for years, and if they can go back and do that then they can give him the perfect game. The real question is will Bud Selig do it, and i dont think he does.Selig doesnt want replay and by reversing the call it will set a precedent that will lead replay to be used more. He will screw over Gallaraga to avoid that.
If he gets the call this pitcher is one of 20. Now he's 1 of 1. Perfect game pitcher that lost it due to a blown call on the last out. Bill Buckner is more famous than he would have been if he grabbed that grounder. Of course that's a dubious accomplishment, for Galaragga it is an honorable one, especially with him accepting the apology.
The umpire blew it and he even said he blew it after the game. At least this guy manned up and said he made a mistake. All that really matters is that the right team won the game. IMO. Since this is the last real call of the game, baseball could do the right thing and change it. Since it didn't change the outcome of the game, this is something that baseball should look at.
Yes, (not counting any boarder line balls/strikes being called/not called) since I don't believe there were any other close plays at first base while the Tigers were in the field, however the final score would have been 1-0 and not 3-0.
I actually was referring to the balls/strikes. I noticed a few that went in Galarraga's favor. I'm not trying to say that he wouldn't have had the perfect game. I just have a problem with picking on bad calls, because they usually even each other out.
Excellent point. I don't think the average baseball fan could name 6 or 7 out of the 20 that pitched a perfect game. I consider myself a pretty big baseball fan but can only name 12 myself without cheating. In 10 years do you think anyone will remember that Dallas Braden, who is at best an average pitcher, pitched a perfect game?
I have no idea to be honest with you. I only saw from the top of the 9th inning and read about a previous missed call at 1st that lead to the Tigers scoring two more runs. Here's a good question, say the blown call was the very first play of the game and then Galarraga sat down the next 27 men, would people be up in arms over it? Or what if that play happened in the 5th instead?
I can name all of them pitcher number one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_game pitcher number two: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_game pitcher number three: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_game
Thats a different situation though he wouldn't have earned his way through all the batters already. Having said that I agree with stringer, bad calls happen, if it happened the other way and the batter was called out when he was safe I wonder what people would be saying?
I'm trying to figure out which is worse, this missed call, or the fact that the Cubs score keeper ruled Kevin Orie's error a hit in Kerry Wood's 20 Strikeout game. I think that happened pretty early in the game. The crazy thing was they could have EASILY changed that ruling later in the game, which happens a lot, and did not. 20 K's and a no-no had never happened before and may never happen.
See, case in point, stuff like that happens. People get all worked up over it and in 10 years everything is completely forgotten. This event will be too.
Here is another point - that same ump completely blew a call in the 8th that resulted in two additional runs scoring for the Tigers. Had he not blown that call, the Indians would have more than likely played the 9th differently (even perhaps bunting). Would that have had an impact? I am all for adding instant replay - but you can't go back on this one game and change the results.
They wouldn't have bunted for a hit, down by a 1 run or 10. It's an unwritten rule. Players take those pretty seriously.
I guess my point is that if you reverse one bad call, where is the line? What if something similar happens in the future? It is a horrible, horrible situation and it SUCKS - but I don't think you can reverse it as a lot of media people are saying.
Well, given that it was the second to last batter of the game, you COULD reverse it, and then take away the AB for the next hitter. I doubt the Indians would've minded. Hell, Donald was as shocked as anyone to be called safe. But Selig and MLB would never reverse it. Baseball is too pure, for right or wrong, to do something like that. I don't even think it has anything to do with a slippery slope.
I can't help but chuckle while reading this thread. It's okay to complain about a blown call, but this is really getting blown out of proportion by everyone both here and in the media. What you have to remember: in the end, it's baseball. It's a nice diversion in the summertime, but ultimately it's just baseball, a fading sport. Blown calls in baseball matter less than in any sport except soccer and hockey. Fading into irrelevance is the ultimate form of damage control.
The problem is that the MLB has no problem with taking away No Hitters, they have gone back and erased something like 30 No Hitters. But this can't be given?
Are you thinking of when Everett broke up Mike Mussina's perfect game back in 2002, I believe, when Mussina had 2 outs in the 9th. But it was a solid base hit into the outfield, it wasn't a bunt. EDIT: Why did this thread get moved to the lounge? Doesn't it make more sense keeping it in the other sports section?
Hello?? Hello?? Where is everyone coming from on the slippery slope position. Its ONE call in ONE game. People say baseball's 'purness' makes it great -- Im sorry but Id rather see a correct call than a pure game for the sake of pureness. By the way, the did everyone forget the Pine Tar game of '83??? The Yankees and Royals actually replayed a game from a certain point to correct a bad call, which I think is a bigger deal than this. Nevertheless, baseball didn't disappear after that.
Because if you change the call of this game then why wouldn't you overrule the same call that was made in the 1985 WS that actually cost the St. Louis Cardinals the championship? Or how about the 1996 playoff game between the Yankees and Orioles when a kid reached over to grab a 'HR' that cost the Orioles the series? Or countless other times an ump blew a call. See it is a slippery slope because you just can't change just one game and one game only, not to mention the fact that why should the commissioner be allowed to overturn an ump's judgement call? At least the Tigers still ended up winning the game. On the same night an ump blew a call on the last play of the Twins/Mariners game that cost the Twins the game, do you want MLB to change that call too? Why should that game be any different? Completely different situations. In the Yankees/Royals game the umps incorrectly applied a rule and called George Brett out because it for, the Royals then put a protest into the MLB offices about it. It wasn't a blown safe/out or ball/strike call, which a team cannot put in a protest for. That's a bad arguement to use to try and justify why MLB should overturn the Galarraga game.
Im sure someone could name one hundred calls that affected the outcome of the game that could have been overturned. What sets this call apart from the rest, however, is that it does not affect the outcome of the game - thats why it is so easy. We dont have to talk about those other games because they will not be affected... You can act like the pine tar incident is a different situation, but im not really sure how. Because it wasnt the identical situation? Regardless, they replayed the remained of the game several weeks later to remedy the situation. That seems more way extreme than what some are proposing. It would just be so easy to give the kid what he deserves...
yeah I was thinking about that one. For some reason I thought it was a bunt Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ok so now we will just choose which games should be overturned now? It's fair to over turn a game in which the game wouldn't be affected but games that a blown call did change the game it's ok then? You can't pick and choose here. The ump blew the call, it happens. It wasn't like he blew the call on purpose to screw the kid over, he made a judgment call that was wrong. People just need to get over it, the pitcher and the team did. The pine tar incident is completely different because the ump got a rule wrong. It wasn't a blown judgment call like a safe/out or ball/strike call, he incorrectly enforced a rule by calling Brett out based on the length of pine tar on his bat when the rule stated the bat should be simply discarded and nothing about a penalty to the batter. Hence why the Royals protested the game and why MLB ruled in their favor because based on the rules in the rule book, the bat should have been taken away for good but the home run should have been allowed instead of Brett being called out and the runs be taken away. Again, big difference between that situation and the one the other night. For more information on the situation, read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Tar_Incident So that's why the two are different.
If it had been the other way, and Donald was safe and the ump blew the call to GIVE the guy the perfect game, we wouldn't be having this conversation. That to me is why you can't overturn the outcome. You can't do it just to give the guy the game, when you wouldn't the other way. You can't just overturn games so they make for a better story.
No, trust me, if it had happened the other way people would be yelling and screaming about it too saying how Galarraga didn't deserve it and Selig should reverse the call and make the two teams finish the game from that point on with 2 outs in the 9th and Donald on 1st. But I agree with the rest of your post for sure. Take away the perfect game aspect and that play wouldn't even be mentioned in the post game shows or game recap.
