Thursday, June 03, 2010

When Major League Baseball gets stupid: Give Galarraga his perfect game.

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Professional sports can be a weird world sometimes.

Readers are well aware of my self-imposed boycott against the NFL for their bigotry and discrimination in Le affaire Limbaugh, wherein I refuse to have anything to do with them again, in person or on TV.

Well, yesterday, on the last out of a perfect game, the first base umpire blew the call. The result?

Armando Gallarraga pitched a perfect game for the Detroit Tigers against Cleveland. In his instance, rather poetically, I thought, Gallarraga got the last out himself by taking the throw at first base a step before the hitter got there.

Replays show, in fact, that it wasn't even close.

Reports now indicate that Bud Selig, Commissioner of Baseball, will not overturn this obvious rip off:
By Ben Walker
updated 3 minutes ago

NEW YORK - Commissioner Bud Selig will not reverse call that cost Armando Galarraga a perfect game, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.


It doesn't really say why not, although it also makes it clear that Detroit will not ask them to overturn it, for reasons that simply boggle the imagination, in that they provide no explanation for THAT decision, a decision where this young man's bid for baseball immortality is swept under the rug like yesterday's newspaper. Or something.
Detroit shouldn't HAVE to ask. Baseball should just do the right thing and overturn the umpire while they give Gallarrago the recognition he deserves in this, the strangest pitching season for perfect games ever... with 3 pitched in the last month while only 20 have been pitched since the late 1800's.
Do the right thing, commissioner. Man up, accept the umpires acknowledgement that he blew it, and do the right thing.
Otherwise, MLB should change their name to Bush League.
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Give him his perfect game. The ump blew it & admitted it. What's wrong with Selig? What more does ne need to see or hear? It is not fair. Come on Bud, do the right thing, not only for Galarraga, but for baseball.

K.J. Hinton said...

Exactly, Anon. The human element cannot be overlooked. This guy deserves a perfect game and Selif is blowing it as much as the ump did by failing to give it to him.