Major League Baseball

White House: MLB should reverse call

Published Jun. 3, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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First the umpire blew the call.

Now, in the view of the White House, so did Major League Baseball.

Replays showed that Joyce got the call wrong, which he later acknowledged after the seeing the video himself.

Said Gibbs: ``I hope that baseball awards a perfect game to that pitcher.''

Too late.

By the time Gibbs made that statement in his press briefing, the news broke that commissioner Bud Selig will not reverse Joyce's call.

A reporter informed Gibbs, who responded: ``They're not going to do it?''

Then he quipped: ``We're going to work on an executive order.''

Joyce apologized to Galarraga and hugged him after the game, and the pitcher accepted the words graciously. The two were back together on Thursday before the next game between the teams, meeting at home plate as Galarraga gave Joyce the Tigers' lineup card. Joyce wiped away tears when he took the field.

``I think it's tremendously heartening to see somebody understand that they made a mistake and somebody accept the apology from somebody who made that mistake,'' Gibbs said. ``I think that's a good lesson in baseball. It's probably a good lesson in Washington.''

There have been only 20 perfect games in the history of Major League Baseball, which elevated the stakes of this one human error.

Gibbs said he had not talked to President Barack Obama about the matter. When asked if he was speaking on behalf of himself or the president in saying what baseball should do, Gibbs said to some laughter: ``I'm speaking with the full weight of the federal government.''

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