The American Spectator

Brian Mc| 6.4.10 @ 7:08AM

Character matters...Jim Joyce for Senate.

Alan Brooks| 6.4.10 @ 10:12PM

"You know, after hearing all the talk from both the pitcher and umpire Jim Joyce today, I have only one thought: They are both classier than I am."

But that might not be saying anything at all.
I personally might be classier than Ty Cobb yet it's nothing to be proud of. No, I'm not dissing these guys-- just the end quote.

ds80| 6.7.10 @ 8:46AM

"No, I'm not dissing these guys"

Anyone who reads your post would conclude that yes, you are dissing these guys. Your saying "I'm not" doesn't magically make it so.

m,artin j smith| 6.4.10 @ 7:43AM

This guy can give a seminar on human decency and humility. The first person who can use this is our own BHO.

Darin| 6.4.10 @ 7:46AM

Please, let's not bring politics into this. This is about exemplary behavior by 2 professionals. It provides a fine example to everyone. Let's celebrate their behavior.

Alan Brooks| 6.4.10 @ 11:21PM

'69 is my favorite year in sports- though such might be sheer nostalgia.
Namath guaranteeing Superbowl III (or was it IV?).
The Mets great year. I went to a twi-night double header to see the Mets that year, best games I ever saw. That was when tickets were a couple bucks, and hotdogs were less than that.

What is the price of hotdogs at games today? six dollars?

Darin| 6.4.10 @ 7:44AM

When you teach your kids how to play sports, THIS is the example to use. Sportsmanship and professionalism from both parties.

Jim Joyce did his job the to best of his abilities. When he found he was wrong, he admitted his mistake. Class.

Armando Galarraga did his job to the best of his abilities. When it ended up not being enough through no fault of his own, he behaved as an adult. Class.

JimH| 6.4.10 @ 8:14AM

Because it is officially an imperfect game there will not be a spot in Cooperstown for it. However in it's own way it will be more memorable than the recognized perfectos. Both Galarraga and Joyce handled this with dignity and class. Overturning the decision by the commissioner would have actually added a taint to the game.

Asa Hearthrug| 6.7.10 @ 8:13PM

You are correct, sir. Two perfect games have been pitched in the majors this season, and they are all but forgotten already. People will be talking about Galarraga's flawed gem 40 years from now.
As for Cooperstown: A perfect game is 27 up, 27 down. Galarraga had to get 28 outs. The Hall of Fame should make a special place to recognize this perfect-plus game, and probably will.

Bob K.| 6.4.10 @ 8:24AM

Life is not fair and Baseball is not perfect!

Harvey Haddix of Pittsburgh threw 10 and 1/3 innings of perfect ball against Milwaukee and lost the game to a home run by Joe Adcock. Haddix is, of course, not credited with a perfect game.

Babe Ruth walked the first batter of a game, argued with the umpire and got thrown out. Ernie Shore came in to relieve, threw the runner out at first and then retired the next 26 hitters in order.

Bob K.| 6.4.10 @ 8:31AM

Clarification to above Babe Ruth and Ernie shore game.

Shore PICKED the runner off First Base upon coming into the game rather than throwing him out.

Bob K.| 6.4.10 @ 8:57AM

Another clarification here on Haddix's game, although my memory may not be accurate. I think a runner reached 2nd on an error. Then Adcock hit his home run which I believe he was not credited with because he stopped at 2nd base and went back to the dugout after the winning run scored!

Life is not fair and the Sport of Baseball illustrates that better than any other sport devised by man!

That is why it is the greatest game!

Stuart Koehl| 6.4.10 @ 4:44PM

Harvey Haddix, actually pitched 12+ innings of perfect ball on 26 May 1959, only to lose in the 13th inning. After retiring 36 consecutive batters, Felix Mantilla reached first in the bottom of the 13th on a fielding error by Milwaukee Brave Don Hoak. Mantilla went to second on a sacrifice bunt, Haddix gave an intentional pass to Hank Aaron, and Joe Adcock then knocked one out of the park--but, in a perfect conclusion to a very odd game, Aaron left the base path and was declared out when he was passed by Adcock, allowing the Braves to win the game, 2-0.

Bob K.| 6.4.10 @ 11:59PM

Stuart,
Thanks for correcting my facts and clarification! I knew something strange happened. Do you recall if anyone apologized?

That's Baseball!

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 2:18PM

There was no need to apologize (unless it was Hoak for booting the play that allowed Mantilla to reach first). Once Adcock knocked it out, the game was over. Mantilla reached home normally, but Aaron, knowing the game was over, started for the dugout, which allowed Adcock to pass him. Under the rules, Aaron is out (second out of the inning), but Adcock completed the circuit and scored. Game over, 2-0, instead of 3-0.

Still the most incredible pitching feat in history. I remember Haddix from his time as Mets pitching coach, when he brought along such greats as Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan.

Matt| 6.4.10 @ 8:54AM

Classy.

putmeincoach| 6.4.10 @ 8:54AM

When the ball is in play, no game on the planet moves faster than the game of baseball. Sometimes the ball travels thousands of feet in 3 or 4 seconds, in opposite directions! Amazing! In its fundamentals, Major League Baseball is no different than a Little League game; at the MLB level the margin for error is nearly invisible and the smallest mistake stands out like a sore thumb. MLB has at least as many problems as any other organization of human endeavor but its people are generally honest, humble, and very grateful for the opportunity to make their living doing what they truly love to do. Mr. Joyce and Mr. Galarraga have shown themselves as gentlemen of the game and we all owe them a debt of sincere gratitude for the good example they have shown us. This situation might have become (yet another!) ugly situation for the bloody newsdogs to rip. Good job, gentlemen! Play ball!

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 6:01PM

How'd I miss this. So the baseball sometimes travels "thousands of feet" in 3 or 4 seconds???? Those 'roids must really be extra special strong!

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 2:23PM

From the rubber to home plate, 60 feet.
From home plate to deep center: 400 feet
From center to second base, 300 feet
From second to home: 150 feet
From home to third: 90 feet
Total: 1000 feet. Elapsed time: about 8 seconds.

Not too much hyperbole.

And no amount of steroids will enable a man to hit a 90-mph fastball, or a hard-breaking curve down and away.

In no other sport is a player successful only three times out of ten considered a superstar.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 4:06PM

Yeah except the situation you just described has probably NEVER happened in a MLB game, (not to mention I would be curious to know how quickly you think a deep fly to center takes to go 400'). Ever. So making up examples to prove a point actually disproves it. Plus ol' boy said "thousandS" of feet in "3-4 seconds." Your lame example is a single thousand in 8 seconds. Fail.

As far as the 'roids comment goes, here's a question that I asked then and will ask now and will probably not get an answer.

If 'roids don't help in baseball, WHY DID THEY DO THEM????? Are you saying if Bonds wasn't roided up he woulda hit 73 bombs anyway? Really? Funny how guys like Bonds and McGwire and Sosa had some of their best power numbers when they were--wait for it!--on roids. Hmmm. But they don't help? Hmmmm. OK.

But then again, you "Clinton'd" the wording too. Roids didn't help them "hit" the ball, but when they did, it sure went further than when they weren't on roids.

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 5:36PM

"Your lame example is a single thousand in 8 seconds. Fail."

You know, by the time your are three or four years old, you're supposed to outgrow that kind of excessive literalism.

"If 'roids don't help in baseball, WHY DID THEY DO THEM???"

They help in degree, not in kind. Anabolic steroids do two things; they help athletes heal faster, and they build up muscle mass. The former keeps players in the game longer, and gets them back in the game faster after injuries. The latter just makes them stronger.

But strength alone is not the key to success in baseball (as it is on other sports, else why are front linemen now 300-lb behemoths?). You have to have the inherent talent--the eye, the judgment, the coordination--to hit the ball, to make the pitch, to catch the fly. If you don't have those in the beginning, steroids won't help you one pinch of owl dung--which you might as well be injecting, for all the good steroids will do.

Crusader| 6.6.10 @ 7:43AM

Stewie the Gay Fencer are you STILL following me around? So you tell me not to be literal when you used a literal argument to try--and fail--to dispute something I posted? Hmmm. OK then.

putmein said the ball travels "thousands of feet in 3-4 seconds," did he not? I disputed that. You provided an example of a single thousand feet in EIGHT seconds. You failed, or is this one of those instances where you were classy about it so your failure is excused?

Not to mention a fly ball hit 400' to CF would alone probably take 4-6 seconds (at least, depending on how high it was hit) but you'd know that if you weren't a limp-wristed gay fencer.

Crusader| 6.6.10 @ 7:47AM

Oh, and you failed on answering my roid questions. If roids don't help, why did they take them? Why did Bonds and Sosa and McGwire suddenly start breaking 30+ y/o HR records every other year when they were on them if, as you assert, roids don't help? Why could they not get close to those same HR numbers when they were OFF roids?????

John Herrington| 6.4.10 @ 9:08AM

Even though we Detroit fans aren't always on our best behavior (the fires and such after the '84 World Series and Pistons winning...) I find that the majority are a good bunch.

I went to (then) Jacob's Field in Cleveland wearing my Tigers hat and the ticket-taker stopped me. Uh oh, I thought, here it comes. He stopped me to tell me that he was an usher the night before and he had a group of Tigers fans in his section. He said that they were the best fans of the game he had come across; polite, interested in the game, cheered the Indians when they made great plays, etc. All I could say was 'thank you for telling me.'

And now I feel that I have a reputation to uphold. Ernie Harwell probably had something to do with it...

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 9:43AM

By all means let's celebrate incompetence because, after all, the incompetent guy is nice and darn it, he's classy too! Sheesh! What a bunch of sissies America has become.

The pitcher has demonstrated class. I have NO SYMPATHY for the umpire though. The play was NOT EVEN CLOSE. Dude was out by a step and he blew it. He is incompetent.

MLB should IMMEDIATELY install replay for force out plays on the basepaths. Don't give me that "human element" garbage. The bottom line is not human element, it's getting the call right. Would be nice if someone could use technology so the strike zone actually gets called according to the rule book too.

Maybe the guys at BP should just say, "Hey I blew it, I'm sorry." Would that make it all better? How about it? I mean if all you have to do to make up for gross incompetence is to say you're sorry--with class-- is that OK?

tdiinva| 6.4.10 @ 9:58AM

Heah sport, things that look obvious in super slow motion replay are not all that obvious in real time. It's the reason I hate instant replay. It lets every fan think he is better than the guy making the call. In many activites what you think you see is not really what happened.

Officials are like players, they make mistakes. If Joyce made this mistake in a 10-1 game nobody would even notice. It probably wasn't his first nor will it be his last in baseball as in live timing is everything.

What makes this a class moment is that umpire owned up to his mistake and the kid accepted the apology when none is required. He walked away with a shutout and win so who cares if it's recorded as a 1 hitter.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 10:46AM

Heah "sport," the only problem with your "argument" is that the runner was OBVIOUSLY out in real time and "super slow motion" only cemented that fact. In THIS case, everyone WAS better than the guy who blew the call on the field. What I thougth and what I saw WAS right and Joyce WAS wrong. Dope.

I mean, what a STUPID retort, "you think you're better than the guy who made the mistake?" Umm, yeah, in this case, I was right and he was wrong. In the America I grew up in it was better to get things right than get things wrong. OBVIOUSLY that's not the case now in our feminized wussy society.

It's funny that you didn't address my second point. So can we make all the mistakes we want and cost people immeasurable things, as long as we say we're sorry--with CLASS?

Hey, sorry I cost you your perfect game.

Hey, sorry I cheated on you.

Hey, sorry I blew all our money at the track.

Hey, sorry we loaned all that money to folks who couldn't pay it back.

Hey, sorry I got drunk and drove and killed your kid.

Stay classy, America.

Dan Hirsch| 6.4.10 @ 9:24PM

Crusader;

A real man accepts what life hands him. The umpire made a tough (wrong) call; he admitted it shortly thereafter. The pitcher recognized that the call was made; there's no going back. You cannot wish the slug back into the gun's barrel once it's flown. He laughed. Men don't ask for do overs.

You seem a little confused. When stuff happens to you, you should laugh and say 'I can do better' and then do so. Instant replay is for lawyers and those who can't face the vagaries of life.

Wanting life to be fair is an excuse for letting the world get the better of you.

Man up. You'll be better for it.

Your call ...

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 10:46AM

Dan, maybe you missed the I don't know, 4-6 times I agreed that the pitcher has shown class and grace. Maybe you need to, you know, man up and actually read my stuff before you make stupid comments about it. You know, that's what men do, they get the whole point before emotionally going off on tangents before digesting what the other person wrote or said.

You could also use some man lessons is actually getting the point, which if you were a man, you would have gotten, so maybe try manning up. The question I asked is is it more important to hold on to 19th-century traditions or get the call right? I happen to believe it is more important to get the call right. You say that when stuff happens to me I should say I can do better. Hmmm. Isn't that the point I made? In the 21st century we CAN do better, i.e. get the call right? Maybe if you, you know, manned up, you wouldn't be so quick to resort to schoolgirl name-calling and accept the fact that we disagree, which is what men do.

Although this does re-enforce my belief that "conservatives" get just as prissy and Alinsky-esque when you disagree with them as libtards do.

Try being a man. Your call~~~~~

Otis Criblecoblis| 6.6.10 @ 2:46AM

Crusader, I do agree with you that Joyce's owning up to his mistake does not make him immune from blame. Yes, he gets credit for owning up to his mistake, but while it was the classy move, it was also the prudent one under the circumstances, and it does not negate the egregiousness of his error.

Joyce is a professional, and while as a human he cannot fairly be expected to be perfect, still he is expected to get obvious calls like this right 100 per cent of the time. This was no split-second difference that required super slo-mo to discern, but a matter of a half-second and half-step. There is no valid excuse for having gotten this wrong.

The appropriateness of his response to his error should lessen the consequences for him, but it does not properly absolve him of all responsibility.

Crusader| 6.6.10 @ 7:37AM

Otis,

I mostly agree with your first paragraph. I still don't see his apology as "classy" for the simple fact that when a billion people know you screwed up, about the only thing you can do IS apologize.

100% with para 2. This was no, as the late Harry Kalas used to say "bang-bang" play. He was out. You could see it in real time. Again I think when Joyce saw how far Cabrera had to go to field the ball he just assumed Donald would beat the play. Umps do this all the time.

I am not calling for consequences for Joyce, just for baseball to get calls right. If that means replay so be it. I made that point over and over again in this thread but some folks still think I want Joyce tarred and feathered. Not true. The only part of the game of baseball that hasn't evolved with the times is umpiring--they still do it the same way they did it in 1870. All I'm asking is why?

putmeincoach| 6.4.10 @ 10:41AM

Crusader, you are entitled to your opinion and your opinion in this matter is wrong. Baseball is not a game played by machines. If you like machine play, stay at home and play with your computer.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 10:49AM

Wow, twist my words much?

I didn't say baseball should be PLAYED by machines, mental midget. I said replay should be used to GET CALLS RIGHT. WTF don't you understand about that?

putmeincoach, huh? Sounds like a bench-warmer to me.

JS| 6.4.10 @ 2:13PM

You missed the whole point of the article. The story was not about the mistake. it was about how the mistake was handled by both parties. This is a great example of both character - the ability to admit a mistake and take responsibility and grace - the ability to accept that someone made a mistake and extend forgiveness.

This article does not deal with consequenses and just because grace and forgiveness are given doesn't mean the consequenses go away. This is a great example from a game about how to deal with problems in the real world with class and grace - two components that are sorely lacking in our 'if its not perfect I'm going to sue and try to destroy you' world.

Your other attacks on tdiinva and putmeincoach, in addition to your original post, are out of proportion to what really occurred. How were you personally wronged by the error in this GAME? Yes it is a game and not life and death. Is it going to affect your ability to provide for your family? Does adversely affect the character of an institution you are a part of? I think the answer to both is no.

Thank you for giving us a prime example of the way people act when they do not exhibit grace and class.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 3:34PM

The above is a PERFECT example of the pussification of the American Male. Sad really. Oh well.

Nice straw man arguments though, claiming I was personally wronged. Never said I was. I just don't like incompetence. Guess that has me in the minority on this thread. Oh well. I'm not going to apologize for it.

So I "attacked" them huh? Haha! What a pansy. If I remember correctly and hold on, it'll take me 3 secs to scroll up and look, your boy tdwhatever responded to MY post in a manner that was not all pleasant. Oh well big deal. I didn't cry about it like you do, but then again I am not a feminized male who views disagreement as "attacks" or "hate."

As for the other guy, putmeinapaddedcell, if I were you I'd read more of his posts before you go defending him. He seems like a good little lefty statist. Then again maybe you are too. Obviously my opinion is not welcome here with you and the other comrades, as you slight it and try to minimize it. Oh well, I ain't going anywhere.

One question though, how did MY post personally wrong YOU, or make you less able to provide for your family, or adversely affect your work? How? I am guessing it did not, but I guess only comrades who hold the same opinion are allowed to post here. Maybe those questions can only be asked of someone with a different opinion than yours? Hmm, did you vote for BHO maybe?

You can not argue my premise, so you attack me. Way to go Alinskyite! Good job!

Bydand76| 6.4.10 @ 7:24PM

Crusader.

I agree with you on this one. The play was not close and a VERY bad call was made.

The ump now has to live with it come what may.

In the old days he would had his ass whupped after the game! Maybe that's what should have happened here?

Just my two cents. All of you mealy mouth weak knee'd girly men can piss off.

You half of the damn problem in this country right now!

Pro Libertate!

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 10:47AM

LOL!!!

tdiinva| 6.5.10 @ 12:07AM

Well sport. It was so obvious from where Joyce was positioned and he was not out by as much as you think. Watch the entire sequence. It looks like he is out by a long step but Galarraga did not have the ball yet. The runner was out by inches not feet. I know you would get every call right but that's only because you are perfect... A perfect a$$ that is.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 10:49AM

He was out by three feet. Again, since you can't argue it, you call names. Way to go Alinsky!!!!!

Some "conservative" site this is.

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 5:45PM

I think you were the one calling names, Crusader. Certainly, you seem far more emotionally invested in winning this argument than its importance warrants, which to me indicates you're either fifteen or an academic. Which is it?

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 9:03PM

Maybe you need to take your faggy little fencing mask off and re-read there eagle-eye. TDwhatever responded to my original post by saying, "Heah sport" which was completely unwarranted but it did mask his pathetic inability to argue the point I made. This is a proven Alinsky tactic. If the shoe fits and all that.

I am so emotionally invested that you keep responding--unsolicited I may add--to my posts, bringing more Alinsky tactics, mostly name calling since we've found out the only "sport" you engaged in-bwahahaha--was "fencing." Fencing, are you serious? Don't you need a real limp wrist for that? Hahahahahahaha! Damn I am en fuego tonight boys and girls!!!!!

I'm actually a 15 y/o academic. So what does that make all the morons who keep coming back to argue--and fail miserably--with me, Stewie the Fencer?

Fencing. Hardee har har!

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 9:42PM

"I'm actually a 15 y/o academic."

How sad for you. Maybe if the rest of us pitched in, we could buy you a life.

"Fencing, are you serious? Don't you need a real limp wrist for that? "

It's all in the wrist, my lad.

Crusader| 6.6.10 @ 7:28AM

Buy me a life? So says the limp-wristed fencer who keeps coming back to engage me on a blog????? Hmm OK.

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 5:43PM

"The pitcher has demonstrated class. I have NO SYMPATHY for the umpire though. The play was NOT EVEN CLOSE. Dude was out by a step and he blew it. He is incompetent."

If you think it is so easy, by all means do apply for the position.

"MLB should IMMEDIATELY install replay for force out plays on the basepaths. Don't give me that "human element" garbage. The bottom line is not human element, it's getting the call right. Would be nice if someone could use technology so the strike zone actually gets called according to the rule book too."

I fenced competitively in my teens and twenties, which was long enough ago that we did not have electronic scoring in my weapon, the saber. I was the victim of a lot of bad calls; on the other hand, sometimes bad calls worked in my favor. It's hard judging when the tip of the blade is moving (and I do not exaggerate here) more than 100 mph (try getting hit by one, even through the glove or canvas jacket--it hurts!).

Now there is electronic scoring for that weapon, and I don't believe it has made saber a better event. Mostly, it has removed most of the art and form from it, because the scoring machine doesn't grant points for doing things right, just doing them fast. Strength and speed have trumped everything else, making saber less fun to watch, and a lot less subtle as a game.

Much the same thing has happened in tennis: with the hyper-powerful serve-volley artists in charge, a lot of shots have dropped out of the repertoire. Women's tennis resisted longer, but with the advent of Navatrilovna, and then the ascent of the Williams Sisters, women's tennis is about as boring as the men's game.

There is considerably more to baseball--and every other sport--than getting the call right. Unless, of course, you've got money on the game.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 8:57PM

You~~~fenced??? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fencing is for fags. Obvioiusly.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 9:09PM

Sorry I didn't read the whole wind-bag post at first, I was too busy ROFLMAO at the fact that you fenced. Haha! Sorry.

Yes I too am saddened that the "sport" of "saber" has become so less fun to watch (hahahahaha!) now that the "art" has been replaced with electronic scoring. Hold on~~~

ROFLMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean seriously Stewie, it was bad enough that you, what do you call it? Played fencing? Hell I dunno, but you actually watch it too? Jeez dude are you from France? ROFLMMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, whew, but I guess you like to watch women's tennis too? Holy crap you are a real man's man I see. Fencing and women's tennis. Hmm. OK then.

Not that there's anything WRONG with that.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 9:19PM

Is it just me but am I the onloy one who every time I go back and try to read this I can't because I keep finding stuff that makes me LOL? Now he was hurt by the wittle tip of the fencing thingie. Boo hoo.

Doctor Right| 6.4.10 @ 9:54AM

This story is receiving FAR TOO MUCH publicity.

In the grand scheme of things, the outcome of a single baseball game - or even baseball itself - is utterly inconsequential.

Oh, no! The pampered, overpaid pitcher didn't get his perfect game! The fans are outraged!

WHO CARES!?!?

Bad calls are part of the game. That's life. Shut-up and deal with it.

Douglas| 6.4.10 @ 9:56AM

Maybe Galarraga can look at it this way: Everybody knows he pitched a perfect game, but which perfect game is more famous: the two others thrown this year, or this one? Being a famous "asterisk" means absolute baseball immortality.

plainjane| 6.4.10 @ 10:15AM

This became better than a perfect game.

So glad to finally hear a good story from professional athletics.

Derek Leaberry| 6.4.10 @ 10:20AM

One would hope that the Galarraga stolen perfect game would lead to a reform of the umpiring ethos. For whatever reason, baseball umpires never overrule their fellow umpires even when absolutely justified in the Galarraga case. The three other umpires at the Detorit-Cleveland game should have overruled Joyce but they did not want to show him up. This has got to change. Baseball officiating should be altered to more resemble that of football's where referees often overrule other referees.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 10:57AM

Its funny to me all these "conservatives" excusing incompetence. Didja know baseball umps are part of a powerful union? And that's why they fight tooth and nail any type of reform to make the game better by actually, you know, getting calls right or firing incompetent employees?

Hey folks, next time some union moron does a half-a$$ job at something DO NOT complain, because from the comments we found that:

- Union members who screw up and demonstrate gross incompetence don't even have to apologize AND
- If they do they are "classy"

Hmm, OK then. Conservatives for incompetent union employees. Good.

Doctor Right| 6.4.10 @ 12:36PM

Trying to cast this as a Conservative (anti-union) vs. Liberal (pro-union) argument is just plain dumb.

The gudzillionaire players also have a union; so what??

Does that make me "Pro-union" if I happen to attend a baseball game? Or wear a Yankees hat to the park with my kids??

The true story here is why this is a story at all.

Maybe it's a slow news day.

Or maybe we're so overwhelmed by the ongoing destruction of our nation by Barry Hussein Obow-ma that we need a good distraction.

Whatever the reason, I re-assert my original assessment: WHO CARES?!?!?

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 3:38PM

The straw men are in abundance tonight! whoo-hoo! This is like shooting fish in barrels (oops I know we weren't talking about fishing, or barrells, or shooting, so is it OK to say that on a thread abotu baseball???).

You miss my point Dr Wrong, which was in response to a post about why the other three umps didn't overrule him. Dork. But I know you won't ever read my response because you "don't care" about this thread, that must explain why you keep coming back and posting. Is your other screenname "Bob?"

Dipsh!t.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 3:45PM

Oh, forgot to say this,

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

PCC| 6.4.10 @ 7:38PM

The correct quote is, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 10:50AM

Grazie!!!

Stuart Koehl| 6.5.10 @ 5:49PM

"Its funny to me all these "conservatives" excusing incompetence."

A true conservative knows incompetence is part of the human condition. Koehl's Corollary of Sturgeon's Revelation says ninety percent of all people are not competent to perform the job they hold (Crusader proves this applies even to blog commentors).

A true conservative also knows that human nature cannot be perfected by human means (including technology). A true conservative accepts life for what it is, and gets on with living it.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 8:55PM

My law of blogging sez "conservatives" will turn into name-calling little fags just like libtards do when they can't argue a point intelligently. I, having made a resounding argument in favor of getting the call right and meeting no intelligent counter-argument, am allowed to call you dummies names. You deserve it.

A true conservative can read a post and not misinterpret simple English.

A true conservative knows blogging isn't my job, and if you can't see by now how much fun I'm having with you half-wits and dim-wits, well, that kinda proves my point, no???

A true conservative doesn't admonish others to get on with life while at the same time he keeps coming back to a blog to name call.

I'm not asking for human nature to be perfected. Just looking to get a call right in a baseball game. Man, you conserlibtards sure are wound tight.

putmeincoach| 6.4.10 @ 11:02AM

Derek Leaberry speaks as a true bureaucrat: no individuality; no sense of individual responsibility; let's spread the blame around; let's dissolve individuality, with all of its warts and imperfections, in the acid-bath of "rule by committee." Bureaucratic Leftism infects the mind; and here the virulence of the infection is displayed by the inability of Derek Leaberry to grasp an evidence of American Exceptionalism portrayed in the Game of Baseball. The Left tried hard to destroy baseball throughout the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties; all kinds of bad PR slung and the game took some hard hits. Then in the Nineties and up to now, the performance-enhancing drug dealers have infiltrated the Game. But, lucky for us, LEGAL immigrants who respect the game for what it is come here to play this most American of games after learning it on ball-fields scattered all over the planet. In the final analysis the game of baseball has done more to change the mindset of Japanese Imperialists than 100 A-Bombs. The first Major League game I ever saw in-person was at Dodger Stadium. I was 55 years old at the time, an old hippy who had disdained The Game as too slow, too old-fashioned, too fuddy-duddy. I was wrong by a country mile. Play ball!

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 11:13AM

So what yer sayin' is then if you get convicted of a crime by a judge you should not appeal to a higher court, as that would be too "bureauocratic?" After all, we don't want to dissolve "individualism" and if an individual judge decides somethng then that's it, no matter if there is evidence to the contrary?

Wow.

Who's the statist again?????

putmeincoach| 6.4.10 @ 12:18PM

Crusader, altho an appeal was made, and even with the perpetrator of the "crime" confessing his "wrongdoing" the appeal was denied. Next case.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 3:43PM

I know. Seems MLB has a ball-less, soul-less "leader" just like the country has.

Derek Leaberry| 6.4.10 @ 11:21AM

I find your criticism opaque. However, as for the Galarraga situation, I find it more collective for the other three umpires to stand behind Joyce and his obvious error. The true individual umpire, when he saw Joyce's error, would have taken it upon himself to rectify the mistake even if he defied the umpire collective.

putmeincoach| 6.4.10 @ 12:08PM

Derek, Jim Joyce did all the rectification possible short of reversing his decision: He admitted and confessed publicly that he had gotten the call wrong. Jim Joyce got it wrong so instead of a perfect 27 outs, the game finished with 28. Reversing the call after watching the replay would have, IMO, been like a sugar-rush: high for a few minutes and then bottomed out because, deep down, we all would have known that Jim Joyce compromised his own integrity and the integrity of the game. One of the beauties of baseball is that to paraphrase Yogi Berra's great aphorism: "When it's over, it's over." The re-start, reset mentality is dangerous to the main. Choices and actions have irrevocable consequences in real life. The organization and rules of baseball are reflective of what happens in real life. Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga are willing to live with it and they have a lot more skin in the issue than either of us. What those two men did was put some real high-quality human character on display. Such a display makes some people uncomfortable (I'm one of those) because it gives sharp contrast to the sloppy the go-along-to-get-along attitude of bureaucratic compromise. The point that you make re: an umpire taking it upon himself to vehemently question Joyce's call? Buddy, that's what the hot-stove league is all about: what if? why? and wonder who? Baseball is a truly wonderful game.

Derek Leaberry| 6.4.10 @ 1:08PM

What I am saying is that the other three members of the crew should have huddled quickly with Joyce and reversed the decision right away. That happens all the time in football when a ref blows it.

Stuart Koehl| 6.4.10 @ 4:47PM

But baseball ain't football, and thank God for that! Baseball is a metaphor for life, and life, sometimes, just ain't fair. Sometimes in life a bad call goes against you. On the other hand, sometimes one goes for you. Hence you learn to treat both with equanimity, and get on with life.

Baseball is about the long haul, in which a single game usually doesn't count for much. It teaches you about pacing, about long-term thinking, about delayed gratification. Football teaches that, as someone said, "the future is NOW". Which means there is no tomorrow, so what do you do when tomorrow actually rolls around anyway?

DonDuke| 6.4.10 @ 10:58AM

I've done my share of umpiring from local Little League to High School ball to the LL World Series. I'll tell you one thing..... I'll never in my life understand why Joyce didn't call that runner out! I've been in similar positions and if it's anywhere close, he's out. Period.

But be that as it may, the exceptional class and character of both Armando Galarraga and Jim Joyce is an wonderful example to everyone including our children.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 11:17AM

Don, I've umpired as well, not as extensively as you, but IMHO after looking at the play my guess is after seeing how far the 1B had to move to field the ball Joyce made up his mind the runner would beat the throw no matter what.

I agree that Galarraga is a great example but to say Joyce is a great example of class and character is a reach. He's a great example of a union protecting an incompetent employee and it finally blows up in their face.

DonDuke| 6.4.10 @ 1:57PM

Crusader.... my point regarding Joyce is that moments after seeing the replay, he walked into the clubhouse, sought out Galarraga and apologized. Now, I have blown calls and admitted it, but I can't recall ever hearing an umpire apologize. No... IMHO Joyce "manned up", took responsibility and in doing so, set a wonderful example of taking ownership of his error.

Crusader| 6.4.10 @ 3:41PM

Again, so I ask, if all there is to it after making a mistake is to "man up," then I guess the commercial I just saw from BP is all they need to do about the spill? I mean, they wholeheartedly apologized and "took esponsibility." I mean, we're good now right? Funny how no body wants to answer THAT.

DonDuke| 6.4.10 @ 5:44PM

Well Crusader, the difference, to me, is that both people, the pitcher and the ump, not only gave lip service to the matter (as I said , I have heard umps say they missed a call but never apologize), they followed it through and both did whatever they could to remedy it as much as possible. I mean... I guess you could insist that Joyce fall on his sword or something. As for BP.... what they have said (as well as chairman Obama) is nothing but insincere lip service. "I confess.... He did it"

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 3:48PM

Well Don I disagree. Have YOU seen the BP commercial? It seems pretty sincere to me, and if I've learned one thing from this board is if you screw up, simply say "I'm sorry" in the most sincerest way humanly possible and all is forgiven. No consequences. You showed "class."

I mean, aren't the egghead BP scientists doing everything they can to remedy the situation?

This illustrates another problem in politics and life--lack of consistency.

And again, to reiterate, I am looking for MLB to come out of the 19th century WRT getting calls correct, not for Joyce to "fall on his sword." That's all. They use technology to make the parks smaller, and the balls/bats harder, and the equipment better, and the uniforms more comfortable, and the players more juiced up, etc etc so why ignore technology when you can use it to make sure the game is called correctly? Seems inconsistent to me.

Dan Hirsch| 6.4.10 @ 9:55PM

ARE YOU SAYING TIES DON'T GO TO THE RUNNER?

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 3:49PM

According to Joyce as long as you're within 3' of the bag you're safe. Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

bill glass| 6.4.10 @ 11:30AM

Bet that ump is thinking about hanging it up...my view is that the best thing was that the mediatards weren't given what they'd want...a big conflict.

ghe| 6.4.10 @ 11:42AM

i don't like so much baseball now, but when i was kid i like this game because from this game we lear how to do teamwork.....

Thomas| 6.4.10 @ 12:51PM

Armando Galarraga would have been remembered by baseball aficionados and stat geeks as one of the twenty-two men to pitch a perfect game, except for a blown call. Now, he will be remembered by a much greater audience, for a much longer time, as the man who was robbed of a perfect game. The record will always reflect that he actually pitched a perfect game, but was not credited with that stat because of an officiating error. His footnote in sports history is ensured.

Charles Maloney| 6.4.10 @ 12:53PM

I was listening to the radio the night Haddix pitched his game. If memory serves, it was 12 plus innings, not 10. A real heartbreaker.

Ken (Old Texican)| 6.4.10 @ 1:18PM

Heh!
I earned a college education throwing knuckle-balls. (My fast-ball...wasn't).

In baseball, the out of play stripes...are in play. Different than any other sport, but speaks volumes about the game.
I love the game.....even though umpires could not detemine a "ball" from a "strike" with knuckle-balls on thousands of occasions.

It was always a chuckle when the ump held his hands out in a shrug after trying to read a knuckle-ball's actual position crossing the plate.

I love baseball....just like it is.

PCC| 6.4.10 @ 7:46PM

"In baseball, the out of play stripes...are in play. Different than any other sport..."

That is, apart from soccer, tennis, volleyball, badminton, etc., etc.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 3:53PM

Wow Ken, you must be old if the umps actually tried calling it based on where the ball crossed! :) Nowadays it's where it ends up.

On the subject of horrible umpiring is anyone watching the WCWS? This has to be THE WORST umpired tourney I've ever witnessed. The home plate umps are giving the pitchers at least 6" off either side of the plate if not more. Just saw some strike calls in the AZ/Wash game that on replay didn't come close to crossing the plate--they passed in the opposite batter's box. Pathetic display of umpiring.

Kylie Estwick| 6.4.10 @ 1:45PM

The big difference here between this and other incidents like it was the contrition displayed by the ump. So many times in these situations (in baseball Im speaking, but it can be applied externally as well) The "mistake-maker" takes on an air of arrogance and obstinance (sp?) only further exacerbating an already vitriolic situation.
The fact that he felt remorse for his mistake AND admitted to it is almost unheard of these days. Given the nature of this site Im sure your "the government could learn something..." was directed at President Obama, but blowhards on both sides of the aisle could learn something here. Arrogance is not exclusive to a single party.
Thanks for your time.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 11:17AM

Joyche had NO CHOICE but to admit he made a mistake--the digital evidence was there to prove it. You can't be obstinant in the face of digital, videographic evidence and be taken seriously.

I guess I don't understand what the big deal is about admitting you screwed up when 300,000,000 people already know you did?????

ggoblue| 6.4.10 @ 1:51PM

joyce screwed up and did the only thing he could to save his reputation, he manned up. good classy move.

gallaraga was an innocent victim through no fault of his own...he did what he did not have to do...HE set an example of sportsmanship and class that will last for many years around here.

governor granmole declared it a perfect game! i'm surprised she didn't blame george bush....

thats the view from detroit

Bob K| 6.4.10 @ 4:47PM

All this discussion aside; had anyone wondered about the current quality of Major League hitting when 3 perfect games are pitched in period of little more than a month?

"Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?"

DonDuke| 6.4.10 @ 5:47PM

Ha Ha... good point Bob. I sure have thought about it and also about the situation in pitching. Almost 3 perfect games in 30 days? After waiting so long? The hitting is simply the growing absence of PED's IMO.

Bydand76| 6.5.10 @ 8:00AM

IDK Bob K,

I think a better argument could be made that the Pitching is getting better.

I think hitting has always been good. look at Toronto or Minnesota right now. ( Morneau is a monster!)

But look how pitching has started to come back as a predominate consideration when playing any current club (admittedly this has always occurred) but the point is. Look how many clubs have 2-3 dominate pitchers on their rotations.

Colorado
San Francisco
NY Yankees
San Diego
etc etc etc.......

Just my two cents

Pro Libertate!

DonDuke| 6.6.10 @ 11:28AM

Well, it seems this may just be another version of "the chicken or the egg" Bydan.... but what occurs to me is that there has not been any "wholesale" swap out of either hitters or pitchers over this past winter and, all of a sudden, we have guys like Ubaldo Jimenez off to a start that has not been seen since Bob Gibson in 1968. Dunno... I think it's a combination of hitters, minus the PED's, and pitchers learning how to pitch inside again.
I heard an interesting idea a few years ago about inside pitching that centered around aluminum bats. Seems the thought goes that, since hitters can muscle most inside pitches out of the infield using the metal bats, without fear of breaking them, pitchers coming up through HS & college generally have gotten away from the tight and inside pitches which served so many great pitchers like Gibson and others so well. Consequently, the pitchers no longer "own" the inside portion of the plate and that spells disaster since all good hitters love to extend their arms.

DonDuke| 6.6.10 @ 11:30AM

BTW- just as a follow up, when presented with a bouncing baby boy grandson a few months ago, one of the first things I told my son was "make sure to make him left handed and then teach him to pitch. :)

N orthern Rebel| 6.4.10 @ 11:25PM

Andrew: Thanks for your terrific piece on one of my true loves: baseball!

However it helps to know your audience.

I have never been to a Starbucks, I have never had a latte.

I drink coffee. I drink it strong, and black, and I enjoy comingling the scent of my morning cigar with my strong black coffee.

For those who do drink "lattes", I have no beef with them, this is a free country.

I challenge anyone to go to the library, and find a book titled "Great latte drinkers in American history."

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 11:20AM

What do you comingle the scent of your afternoon cigar with? Me, I like to comingle it with the scent of the blood of the virgin I just deflowered.

I'm not a man's man. I'm a man's man's man. An All-American American.

MBAchin| 6.5.10 @ 4:41AM

The article isn't about blown calls-Helen Keller could see that. It's not about Umpire's unions or metaphors for American politics. It is about character. Did you catch the line, "Where's the sense of entitlement, the rage, the desire to make one's self look bigger by humiliating the other guy?"
I challenge readers to find a better illustration of Cline's antithesis than Crusader's posts.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 11:03AM

So now I'm an atheist propaganda artist because I think baseball should use replay to get calls right? And its "humiliating" to correct a mistake nowadays? Wowsers.

I think most posters are what Beck calls "Trophy Kids" or never actually played sports. Either that or I'm getting old. The fact that

1 - A really bad mistake was made and
2 - Technology has proven a bad mistake was made and
3 - A means to correct the mistake exists but
4 - MLB (and the pansies on this board) refuses to correct it

just boggles my mind.

Me, I strive for excellence. If I fail, I just don't accept it and say "oh well, at least I failed with class." I learn from it and correct it. I'm glad Edison didn't have the attitude of the majority of you--we'd still be burning candles to read.

Bob K.| 6.5.10 @ 8:35AM

.......Where's the sense of entitlement, the rage, the desire to make one's self look bigger by humiliating the other guy?"

You mean like they do here in the comments section to "The American Spectator?"

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 11:14AM

Serious question:

Why is it considered a "sense of entitlement" to expect someone to do their job correctly? Better yet, if a person does their job perfectly, is it a "sense of entitlement" to expect to be recognized for doing a perfect job--esp when your organization specifically recognizes those who do a perfect job?????

I thought a sense of entitlement would be like someone who DOESN'T put forth the effort but EXPECTS ANYWAY to be recognized like he did? Are you seriously saying if for instance Galarrage b!tched about it he would be displaying a sense of entitlement?

Just curious.

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 11:09AM

A quick question, we'll see if this one gets answered.

Any Chargers fans in the contingent of "oh well, at least he apologized" crowd? How about any Seahawks fans? Would be interesting to know. I would also like to watch a football game with this crowd, esp when your favorite team is playing. See if you really live up to your words. My guess is~~~a resounding NO.

But then again, I highly doubt most of you are even sports fans or know anything about football that isn't googled or wikipedia'd.

Northern Rebel| 6.5.10 @ 11:38AM

crusader:

Funny comingling stuff!

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 3:26PM

I appreciate you seeing the humor in it! :)

Northern Rebel| 6.5.10 @ 11:54AM

Crusader:

I also agree with your notion that you are expected to do your job right. That used to be the norm, and it seems to have gotten lost somewhere. Athletes are particularly guilty of this, with their touchdown dances, and celebrations for accomplishing the most menial of tasks.

Jim Brown, the greatest football player ever, (this is coming from someone who idolized Johnny Unitas as a young boy) would score a touchdown, hand the ball to the ref, and tell him he'd be back in 5 minutes.

Now a player scores a touchdown, and acts like he may never do it again!

Cassius Clay is to blame for obnoxious athletic behavior in athletes. Reggie Jackson took it to a whole new level, gazing at his home runs as if they were pornographic.

The athletes I admired were the exact opposite: John Havlicek
Carl Yastrzemski
Johnny Unitas

ESPN did a special on "The Greatest Game Ever Played", the sudden death game between the Colts, and Giants.

On the final play, Unitas hands off to Alan Ameche, knowing he was going to score. Unitas hands off, and turns his back and begins to walk off the field. No jumping, no dancing, no celebrating. Just winning.

Now there was a man's man's man's man!!!

Crusader| 6.5.10 @ 3:37PM

I agree with you 100%. Growing up I played 3B in baseball and idolized Mike Schmidt. One of the best compliments I ever got was after making a good stop at third and throwing the guy out. While walking back to my position I simply held up one finger to the OF signaling "one out" and my coach called me "Mr Non-Chalant." That's was just how I played. I tried to keep in mind for every "great" play I might make I'll probably make 3 errors somewhere along the line so I tried to be humble.

Anyway what you mention is one of the reasons I stopped playing softball. I played at a decently competetive level (haha, "competitive softball," but its true) but holy crap man the way grown men talk smack after hitting a softball 350'! Wow.

"Just winning" used to be enough. Now not only do you have to win, you have to rub your opponents nose in it along the way.

Sometimes I wish someone would start a league for the non-flashy, "just do their job" type of players, but it would probably be viewed as "racist."

Answers1| 6.5.10 @ 11:53PM

A whiff of fresh air after philanderer Tiger Woods and full-of-herself Serena Williams.

Capt G| 6.6.10 @ 2:25AM

There have been 21 perfect games thrown in the history of baseball, with two of them this year. In a short period of time, only serious baseball fans will remember the details of even the two thrown this year. Yet the Gallaraga and Joyce game will live on and, perhaps, become immortal.

Baseball is indeed a metaphor for life. And life is about winning and losing only tangentially. It's all about the effort involved in winning or losing, and that's an all the time thing. Fail at the plate 60% of the time and you'll be the greatest hitter since Ted Williams.

We are defined by our failures. Success offers us many reactions; failure leaves us only with our character. We don't read, "Charge of the Light Brigade" for either history of the Crimean War or as an example of cavalry tactics.

The progressive, and the technocrat passing as conservative, want and expect life to be fair in all aspects, at all times. Conservatives, and baseball fans, know that life is unfair but, as has been said of God, in a capricious, not malicious sort of way. Kipling also wrote of confronting both impostor's, success and failure, with equanimity.

The technocrat trumpets that he only pays for success while the progressive laments that mere words cannot make up for failure. Both miss the fundamental point that no matter how strongly they believe and feel such things, not a whit of progress has been made in the perfectibility of man in the course of human history. Those who worship only success find themselves alone in the room telling lies to themselves. No words can bring back the youth killed by the drunk driver but that is not a failure of, "I'm sorry". And it does not consider that the lost youth had no assurance against meningitis a few years hence. The immature mind rails only at the loss while the conservative marvels at the strength of character of those left behind, with no choice but to bear the unbearable loss. The progressive is consumed with what cannot be changed fundamentally, the loss, while the conservative focuses on the miracle of the possible. Men only get to be heroic within a greater tragedy.

And they don't do that as a society, they do so as individuals. Society only becomes great when the preponderance of it's individuals are great.

We can argue balls and strikes, instant replay, and fairness, until the cows come home. And it's not fair that already no one remembers Austin Jackson's otherwise remarkable catch the play before the controversy which kept the perfect game alive, and the absence of which would not see us here today. And while some commentators have missed it, thank goodness the author here has not; we've witnessed two great examples of character and human nobility. The game, one of 162, was won anyway. All that really mattered at the end was that for two men, of whom we previously knew little, there was to occur a singular moment in each of their lives when honor, humility, and virtue would matter more than anything else. They both seem to understand that life ain't fair, never will be, and there's no crying in baseball.

Bob K.| 6.6.10 @ 3:26AM

It is possible for a pitcher to pitch and lose a game where, THROUGH NO FAULT OF HIS OWN, runners reached base and scored. Under those circumstances he would be credited with a no-hitter. He is not credited with pitching a perfect game because it is a team game and the game was not perfect!

Umpires are part of the game.

Lisa| 6.6.10 @ 6:01PM

Galarraga did not have complete control of the ball, ergo, the runner was safe! Joyce made the right call, Mr. Cline! Deal with it!

Crusader| 6.7.10 @ 11:01AM

Lisa, in case you didn't hear, even Joyce himself said he screwed up after seeing the replay. Nobody, NOBODY disputed that the Donald was out.

Your argument, therefore, is an epic fail.

wodiej| 6.7.10 @ 9:25AM

Class by the baseball player and humility by the umpire. Both a dying art in sports.

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