Galarraga "Perfect Game" Not to Be

Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game or so it seemed. Unfortunately an umpire blew an easy call and the perfect game wasn’t perfect according to the box score. Armando didn’t strikeout a lot of batters, only 3 total but he pitched very well and only threw 88 pitches. This would have been the first perfect game in a storied Detroit Tigers program. Instead it now reads as a 1 hit game. This is still a great performance and everyone knows it should have been a perfect game but the young pitcher is now deprived of that. It’s very unfortunate that an umpire could blow a call that really wasn’t even close.

Armando had some great defense behind him in this one. It seemed like destiny in the 9^th inning as Austin Jackson made an incredible over the head catch. It was shades of Willie Mays. At the end of the day the Tigers got the win but its bitter sweet.

This would have been the 3^rd perfect game this season which has never been seen before. A perfect game is rare in itself. It is a tremendous feat for any pitcher to accomplish and to have one basically taken from you is a tragedy.

I think the umpire should have just called the runner out even if he wasn’t sure. If he missed the call and the runner was actually safe there wouldn’t have been so much drama surrounding the call. Sure the Indians would be mad but a perfect game is so rare for pitchers that the umpire should have been 1000% sure the runner was safe or he should have called him out. Galarraga likely wont have another shot at a perfect game and that’s sad because he truly deserves it and he showed professionalism handling the situation. He could have yelled and complained at the ump but instead he just went back to work finished the game and celebrated with his teammates. Even when asked about it after the game he played it off as not a huge deal but it is and he deserves this perfect game.