The Imperfect Game

Charles Klein

For guys like Armando Galarraga, moments like what almost happened on Wednesday night never happen. Galarraga, an average pitcher at best, was one correct call away from a perfect game. But first base umpire Jim Joyce made a mistake and called Indians shortstop Jason Donald safe when replays clearly showed that Donald was out.

Not too long ago Armando Galarraga was pitching in the minor leagues. Although he had won 13 games last season, Galarraga is not a highly touted prospect of which much is expected by the Tigers organization. But at least for a moment on Wednesday night, Galarraga thought he was in the company of greats like Don Larsen and Roy Halladay.

The manner in which Major League Baseball handled the whole ordeal tells you everything you would ever want to know about the integrity of the game. Jim Joyce gave an emotional interview after the game where he remarked that he kicked the sh*t out of the call and wished that he could do something for Galarraga. After the game, Galarraga, when asked about the call said "nobody's perfect."

And then yesterday Jim Joyce was able to give the lineup card to Galarraga, who also was presented with a brand new Corvette by Chevy. It was an emotional moment for all parties involved.

For everyone lambasting Bud Selig because he did not reverse the original call on the field, there is more to it than just that call in that game. If Selig reverses that call, is he then obligated to re-award the 1985 World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals? Until a real system is divised that can work instant replay into the game, Selig cannot and should not go around and play revisionist historian.

Baseball is not an instant replay sport. More than almost any other game, baseball just is not conducive to replay. The effectiveness of instant replay in the NFL has convinced many that such technology needs to be employed in every sport in every game.

And I could not disagree more. Sure it would be nice if Galarraga could still get his perfect game after an instant replay challenge, but incidences like what happened Wednesday night in Detroit are the exception and not a general trend. Officiating in baseball is not so poor that I constantly wonder to myself how different the game would be if instant replay was used.

Baseball is a game about human error. In no other sport does error play such a central role in how it is observed. In baseball there is a statistical category that measures it. As baseball fans we have come to accept errors as part of the game. Blown calls like the one that Jim Joyce made Wednesday night happen regularly with regard to balls and strikes. The strike zone, so intrinsic to how baseball functions, varies from umpire to umpire. Sometimes they call a pitch a strike that is a ball, and vice versa. But I've never felt that it was necessary to have instant replay to correct these calls, I just accept them, bicker about them, and let the game move on.

Ladies and gentleman, baseball is an imperfect sport. Failing, erring, seven out of ten times is considered success. We accept the games imperfections because its flaws also give birth to its biggest strengths. The emotion that resulted from Joyce's blown call brought baseball people together in a totally different way. To install instant replay simply because we have the ability to do so would do too much to change the game we have all come to love. If these errors are too much for you to take, I suggest you take the summer off and watch the NFL when it returns in the fall.

Hate it or love it, baseball is the imperfect game.