Jim Joyce Made One of the Worst Calls in MLB History, & We’ll Be Thanking Him Later For It

on 06 3, 2010

The first recorded perfect game in MLB history was tossed by Lee Richmond of Worcester in 1880. Since Richmond’s perfect game, there have only been 19 other perfect games pitched, two of which have come this season. Considering there have been only 20 perfect games in a 130-year time span, it’s clear that tossing a perfect game is a rarity and is one of the most impressive single-game accomplishments in all of sports.

What unfolded last night made me feel dirty in a way I’ve never felt before. I’m not talking about an I-need-a-shower dirty, this feeling of filthiness is something that could not be easily cleansed. It’s more along the lines of an I-got-raped-by-consent dirty, or a we-know-it’s-wrong-and-easily-fixable-why-the-fu*k-can’t-we-change-it dirty. In this case, Jim Joyce was the rapist and the MLB was the latter.

Aside from Armando Galarraga and the Tigers organization, I, as well as the entire sports community, felt victimized, shocked, and disgusted after arguably one of the worst calls in Major League Baseball history. If your name is a trending topic on Twitter minutes after, you know you messed up big time, and you know you infuriated a great deal of people. With 26 outs, Jason Donald’s grounder to Miguel Cabrera all but sealed Galarraga’s place in history, that is until Jim Joyce metaphorically bent every sports fan over. Given the circumstances, Joyce calling Donald safe at 1st base when he was clearly out by at least a foot is one of the worst calls I’ve seen in my lifetime.

Pardon my language, but WHAT THE FU*K WAS JIM JOYCE THINKING?!? Botching a call that was so blatantly wrong would be absurd in any circumstance for a Major League umpire, but to do it on the last out of a perfect game is wrong on so many levels. Of course he publicly acknowledged the fact that he made an enormous mistake and said he’s sorry; he had to, but “sorry” simply isn’t good enough. Is he sincerely sorry?  Did he truly think he made the correct call at the time? Does it even matter?  Did he have to turn in his Stars ‘N Bars leather vest when he received his ump jersey?

What may have been more frustrating than Joyce’s bonehead call is the flawed MLB system. I understand you folks don’t want to change “America’s Pastime,” but my goodness, can we try to think rationally? I mean, there was 100% conclusive video evidence that Jim Joyce made the wrong call.  We’re supposed to rely on the quick (supposedly) instincts of one human to get the call right?  In case you haven’t noticed, humans are frequently wrong (consider how much we humans have managed to fu*k up the world).  Furthermore, you may or may not have taken notice to our technological advancements.  Yes, technology is a great thing!  Why in the blue hell would we not use it?!  In the contemporary world, we can meticulously review controversial plays from a variety of angles that are much more reliable and allow us to make a correct decision as opposed to relying on some plump middle-aged Harley-Davidson-biker-looking umpire’s delayed and flawed vantage point.


I think it’s fair to say the majority of MLB enthusiasts love the game of baseball because of the strategy and nuances that make up the game. From my personal observation, it’s clear that a great deal of people find baseball to be boring for the reason that it is so strategic and has so many subtleties, as opposed to the fast-paced, physical style of play of other sports.

While the game of baseball in general might not be exciting to casual observers, hearing the whispers of “perfect game” is intriguing to any fan of sports, or at least it should be. Attracting viewers who ordinarily wouldn’t tune-in to a game is great for the MLB, that is until last night’s dilemma. These spectators who customarily don’t follow baseball too closely finally tune-in to have a chance of witnessing history, only to see it botched by some hick on the 1st baseline. Does that paint a pretty picture for the Major League? Is the casual observer going to be enthusiastic about turning on an MLB game in the future? Why do I want to watch a sport where human error is such a big part of the game? Get the goddamn call right! What the hell is wrong with you people?!

To rob Armando Galarraga of a spot in the record books because of such a blatantly wrong call is detrimental to the game, the fans, and most importantly, Galarraga and his team who helped him accomplish this.  I’ve never seen the sporting world so outraged by a bad call.  Even the sports fans who despise the Detroit Tigers are appalled.  Bottom line is this: a perfect game is a thing of beauty; it is baseball at it’s absolute finest.  The effort of every team member and the determination to make history is why I watch the game.  To deprive a pitcher and a team who played 27 outs of flawless baseball a spot in the record book because of a bogus call is a sports sin.  This was the final straw.

The fact of the matter is this: regardless of how awful Jim Joyce’s call was, this whole situation could have been prevented with video review.  If last night’s game didn’t convince you that it’s time for video review for plays like this, what is it going to take?  Are we going to wait to rob another athlete of some prestigious accomplishment because of a bad call?  The time for change was yesterday.

Do we really want this to happen again when we know it’s easily preventable?

In my opinion, the MLB is long overdue for video review.  It’s basically common sense.  Forget the human error aspect of the game; it’s time to start getting the calls right. The NBA, NFL and NHL all have a video review system in place which increases the integrity of the game and dramatically lowers the number of errors.  It is time for the MLB to start using it as well.

What the hell is so appealing to the human-error aspect of the game anyway?  Why be in favor of something that has the potential to completely manipulate the outcome of a game? As an avid sports fan, nothing irritates me more than a bad call that affects the course of the game.  Video review has worked out great for the NBA, NFL and NHL; why wouldn’t it be beneficial for the MLB?  Isn’t playing the game as honestly and error-free as possible one of the most important aspects of sports?

After this whole ordeal, I think it only reinforces the fact that the MLB definitely needs to implement some type of video review to avoid or overturn calls such as Jim Joyce’s last night. Put this “human-error is a big part of the game” talk to rest.  Think rationally, and realize that favoring a higher chance of error when we have the technology to prevent or fix them makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

While we were ready to crucify Jim Joyce on the spot, and although Armando Galarraga was the scapegoat, if the MLB implements the obvious and logical video review system like they should, we will be thanking him later.

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