It’s one of the most infamous mistakes in sports history.
In a Major League Baseball game played on June 2, 2010 at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga nearly became the 21st pitcher in Major League history to throw a perfect game.
Galarraga instead finished with a one-hit shutout in a 3–0 victory. He faced 28 batters and threw 88 pitches (67 strikes and 21 balls), striking out three. The game is sometimes referred to as the "28-out perfect game", the "Almost Perfect" game, the "Extra Perfect Game", the "Imperfect Game" or simply the "Galarraga game."
The Umpire
James Alfred Joyce III
Is an American former professional baseball umpire who worked in the American League (AL) from 1987 to 1999 and throughout Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2016.
The perfect game was ruined one out short when first-base umpire incorrectly ruled that Indians batter Jason Donald reached first base safely on a ground ball.
Armando Galarraga and James Joyce
The umpire and the batter both admitted the call was wrong, but Major League Baseball’s commissioner refused to overturn the umpire’s decision and award Galarraga the 21st perfect game in the sport’s 134-year history. Support to overturn came from the White House, the governor of Michigan and all corners of the media.
Why Major League Baseball can’t recognize a perfect game?
Major League Baseball did not go so far as to set the precedent of altering the record of what occurred. A reversal of the true historical record of what occurred on the field, under the rules in place at that time, would open a Pandora's box of issues from the history of the game where past and future errors would constantly be vulnerable to scrutiny and dispute.
How Armando Galarraga’s perfect game came to Monmouth law students attention?
Armando was reached out by Lawrence R. Jones Professor, Law and Society of Monmouth University explaining that as part of the students studies and class pre-law project.
He was considering the possibility of focusing on the issue of the June 2, 2010 "28 out "perfect game", and having the students work together on researching the matter and preparing a proposed joint student application to Major League Baseball on principles of equity for formal/official recognition of your pitching feat as an official perfect game, and the inclusion of you on the list of official perfect game pitchers.
As a professor, He considered Armando's story is fascinating and relevant on several educational levels, and He thought the assignment be extremely enlightening to the students in terms of concepts of fairness, support of just causes, and the process of attempting through logic and reason to persuade organizations and institutions to "do the right thing."
Nobody's Perfect
In Nobody’s Perfect, Galarraga and Joyce come together to tell the personal story of a remarkable game that will live forever in baseball history, and to trace their fascinating lives in sports up until this pivotal moment.
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