Getting the Call Right vs. the Human Element: What's More Important?

As everyone knows, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from the 21st perfect game in Major League Baseball history Wednesday night against the Cleveland Indians. The 27th batter of the game, Indians shortstop Jason Donald, hit a slow roller in between first and second.

Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera cut off second basemen Carlos Guillen and threw over to Galarraga in time to record the 27th and final out of the game ending a history making night for the young hurler.

Until first base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe instead.

The fans at Comerica Park, the players from both teams, and broadcasters around the league were in shock as Galarraga's perfect game suddenly became imperfect.  The next batter, Trevor Crowe, grounded out to end the game, and Galarraga and the Tigers won the game 3-0.

Yet the hometown fans went home disappointed as Joyce blew "the biggest call of his life."

The call by Joyce is strikingly similar to a call made in Game Six of the 1985 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals.  In the bottom of the ninth with the Cards leading 1-0 and up 3-2 in the series, Royals leadoff hitter Jorge Orta hit a slow roller to first basemen Jack Clark who flipped the ball to closer Todd Worrell, beating Orta to the bag.

Denkinger, like Joyce, mistakenly called the runner safe.  The Royals went on to score two runs in the inning to win the game and tie the series at three and would go on to win Game Seven and their first World Series title.

Some believe to this day that Denkinger's call rattled the Cardinals so much that it cost them the series. 

And everyone knows, including Joyce, that his call cost Galarraga perfection.

Calls such as Joyce's and Denkinger's have sprung a debate throughout the league about expanding the use of instant replay to more than just boundary calls.

It's finally time that that day has come.  Instant replay is needed for every call in baseball, except for balls and strikes.

The technology is obviously there since replay can be used to overturn and award home runs on borderline fair or foul calls or even if the ball actually cleared the wall.

But that's it.  Only home runs can be reviewed, but after last night, it's time to make a change.

Some baseball purists would argue that instant replay for every call would get rid of the "human element" of the game, and that's why the game is so great because the game is full of mistakes and imperfections.

But what's more important: getting a simple out or safe call right or keeping the game pure and essentially technology free?

The other three major sports, and even tennis and NASCAR, use technology to their advantage in order to assure that borderline calls are proven to be correctly called or overturned to make them right and no one seems to complain about the lack of the human element of those sports.

So why is there such a fuss about baseball's human element?  Game-changing and history-making calls should be looked at in order to assure the umpire got it right.  In fact, every borderline call should be under review. It's a simple solution that can fix a gigantic mess that hampers the game of baseball.

Now, not every call can be looked at because that would be a waste of time.  So Major League Baseball could adapt an instant replay system similar to the National Football League's, in which coaches can challenge two calls per game that they believe were called incorrectly.

Manager's challenges would make the game of baseball better and assure that borderline calls at first or any other base, trapped catches in the outfield, and boundary calls are called correctly so perfect games aren't taken away.

But as Galarraga put it himself after the game, "Nobody's perfect".