Have you ever had a day where you did everything right? A day when you were perfect, perhaps?
Not many of us have. But June 2, Armando Galarraga had one of those magical days.
It wasn't something anyone would have predicted for a pitcher with a career 23-26 record and 4.58 ERA.
But from the moment Galarraga stepped on the mound that night against the Cleveland Indians, the planets aligned and everything fell into place.
Batter up, batter down. Rinse, repeat.
Then it seemed Galarraga made his first mistake of the day. Leading off the ninth, veteran Mark Grudzielanek swung at the first pitch and launched what looked to be the first hit -- maybe a home run -- of the game off Galarraga.
Enter Austin Jackson, rookie center fielder phenom. Jackson showed off his speed and ran down the ball, catching it Willie Mays-style as he approached the wall in left-center field.
It seemed like destiny was calling Galarraga, which it was, but not in the way anyone was thinking in that moment.
With two outs in the ninth inning and a perfect game so close everyone could taste it, Jason Donald came up to bat.
Donald hit a ground ball, which first baseman Miguel Cabrera fielded. Galarraga arrived at first and received the throw. He then turned and watched as first base umpire Jim Joyce spread his arms and signaled Donald was safe.
Everyone in the park was stunned, including Donald. Some players started to yell at Joyce, fans booed, manager Jim Leyland came out to argue, but Galarraga just managed a bewildered smile.
Without saying a word to Joyce, Galarraga got back on the mound and got the final out. Since calls like that are not reviewable, the perfect game was officially gone.
But the perfection of the day, oddly enough, was not over.
Over in the umpires' room, Joyce had gotten a look at the replay and was beside himself as he spoke with reporters.
"It was the biggest call of my career and I kicked the (crap) out of it," a distraught Joyce said after the game. "I just cost that kid a perfect game after he pitched his (butt) off all night."
Back in the Tigers' clubhouse, without having spoken to Joyce, Leyland was already cool, calm and collected.
"Jim's a class guy, he's going to look at the play," Leyland said. "This sounds crazy, but after looking at the play, nobody's going to feel worse than he does."
Meanwhile, Galarraga was trying not to watch the never-ending series of replays on the big-screen TV as his teammates were doing.
Galarraga had every reason to beg off interviews after what had happened, but he did not. He was clearly overwhelmed by what had transpired.
"I'm happy. I'm sad. I don't know," he said. "You guys and all the people that watch TV, and that saw the replays, they know for any pitcher in any league anywhere, it means it was a perfect game.
"When you got that kind of call, you're like, you watch the replays and it was totally out. I want the umpires to do a better job. In that circumstance, there's no way he can call that safe. It's what made me sad. I can't help it. I really can't help it."
Without knowing that Joyce was already in the process of kicking himself, that was about as upset as Galarraga got. He was even able to acknowledge Joyce's feelings.
"That kind of thing doesn't happen every day," Galarraga said. "And I know he's human. He probably feel bad right now because he's going to watch the replays. But how am I gonna feel?"
As Leyland had predicted, no one did feel worse than Joyce. He not only blamed himself to reporters, he asked if he could speak with Galarraga.
Galarraga took one look at Joyce and any anger he might have harbored instantly melted away. Joyce's distress was so palpable that Galarraga immediately accepted his apology and the two embraced.
The day of perfection continued into the next day.
Detroit fans applauded the umpires as they walked through the tunnel to the field. Although there were some boos when Joyce was announced as the home plate umpire, they didn' last long. The crowd was more prepared to cheer for Galarraga.
Unbeknownst to Galarraga, Chevrolet had arranged to have a new red Corvette presented to him before the game. The outfield tunnel opened and the scoreboard read: "Chevrolet and the Detroit Tigers recognize Armando Galarraga for his excellence on the field and for his professionalism and sportsmanship."
After that, Leyland had Galarraga take the lineup card to Joyce. He shook hands with Joyce and patted him on the back. Joyce patted Galarraga on the arm as he tried to hold back tears.
After the game, Brandon Inge summed up what everyone was thinking.
"It was a tough situation that could have snowballed into a very bad situation," Inge said. "Both sides handled it so well. For one, Galarraga, I think he's about the most professional guy I've ever met or played with, the way he handled everything. Jim Joyce as well. I consider him a true man, 'fessing up to it and the way that everything was handled by him.
"He stayed out on the field after the game and took any type of beating that guys were giving him. He 'fessed up. I takes a man to admit he's wrong.
"Then, I think the car for Galarraga, if there was ever an award that was very deserved, it was that one right there. It was a good sportsmanship award right there."
Since then, Galarraga and Joyce appeared at the ESPY Awards and have written a soon-to-be-released book together about what happened. Time magazine, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are just a few of the national publications who chose the imperfect perfect game as the sports story of the year.
Although Galarraga only won two more games after that night, he will always be able to remember that he had one day where he was perfect -- in everything.
Dec. 31, 2010
