dear MLB: go toward the light

Thank god for lunch (half) hours. If I didn’t get this out, I was going to explode.

In the wake of Galarraga’s stolen perfect game, there are a lot of rampant emotions, many unkind words, and a few facts:

1. Indians shortstop Jason Donald was out at first base.
2. Jim Joyce mistakenly called him safe.
3. After the fact, all rational parties (including players on both teams, Joyce, the blogosphere, Major League Baseball, both my dead grandmothers, and Donald himself) all agreed that the call was wrong.
4. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig had the opportunity to reverse the on-field call and award Galarraga the perfect game he and the Tigers had earned.
5. Selig whiffed.

Maybe it’s the hockey fan in me, maybe it’s that I spent too much time last night on Twitter. Whatever the case, I couldn’t help compare the situation unfolding in baseball with the way previous controversies have been handled in the NHL. It’s an interesting point/counterpoint study, actually. . .

On the one hand, you have the NHL, which consistently gets it wrong despite having the most advanced instant replay technology in existence — not to mention a war room of “experts” reviewing each play seconds after it happens. You have a league that upholds botched calls and clings to the fallacy that its officials are untouchable, rather than acknowledging the truth: that they’re humans trying to make 1,000 right calls each period, in a game that moves at a breakneck speed. You have officials who seem to feel empowered by the league’s protection, and who refuse to admit when they’ve blown a call — even when it makes the difference in a game, a playoff series, or a Stanley Cup.

On the other hand, you have Jim Joyce, a veteran umpire of 22 years and the unlucky guy who made the Bad Call Heard ‘Round the World. A guy who almost immediately admitted he got it wrong and expressed overwhelming sadness, remorse and shame. A guy who knows his name will forever be linked with the call and its subsequent maelstrom of controversy, even if the MLB were to overturn his on-field call and award Galarraga a perfect game. A guy who has shown nothing but class to the media, to the fans, and to the man whose moment he irrevocably (if unintentionally) stole.

Even if league commissioner Bud Selig had overturned Joyce’s call, the moment has passed. Galarraga and the Tigers will never have the cathartic moment of pure emotion and adrenaline to celebrate with each other, and with their 40,000 fans. Galarraga will always know he pitched a perfect game; the 2010 Detroit Tigers will always know they backed him up with offense and airtight fielding. But the moment of savoring just the 21st perfect game in baseball’s century-long history is gone.

Joyce knows that. He’s fully aware that in those three seconds he became the most mocked and cursed at man in baseball since Bartman donned a turtleneck and headphones. Yet he hasn’t hid behind a title or the league or his tenure; instead, he began beating himself up over it almost immediately, saying: “It was the biggest call of my career and I kicked the shit out of it. I just cost that kid a perfect game.” If you don’t feel for him at this point, then man are you dark. Refusing to hide from the repercussions of Wednesday’s call, Joyce returned to Comerica Park today as home plate umpire and teared up again when Galarraga brought him the starting lineup for a Jim Leyland-orchestrated Kodak moment. Whatever Jim Joyce has done in his umpiring life before June 2, 2010, this incident has proven he is a class act.

Human error happens. It’s part of sports, and of life, and it will never — should never — completely be eradicated. Without human error, we become a nation of automatons. It’s the ability to recognize, own up to, and respond to human error that truly shows character.

Commissioner Selig and Major League Baseball got it wrong today. Galarraga and the Tigers will have to settle for the notorious distinction of being the only team to have a perfect game spoiled by an umpire error, rather than a feat by either team. And a good man will ever-after be defined by one mistake, which is a damn shame.

Selig’s statement, while not deigning to mention his authority to reverse the rotten result, indicates changes may be on the horizon for the league: “Given last night’s call and other recent events, I will examine our umpiring system, the expanded use of instant replay and all other related features. Before I announce any decisions, I will consult with all appropriate parties, including our two unions and the Special Committee for On-Field Matters, which consists of field managers, general managers, club owners and presidents.”

Baseball fans of every stripe should pray the MLB doesn’t follow the lead of the NHL. Replays are useless if you choose to buffer bad calls with silence and excuses. If Selig and the league want to maintain baseball’s integrity, I urge them to look no further than to Galarraga, Joyce and the fans in Detroit — and the lessons are pretty straightforward: Own your mistakes. Don’t let your ego make you believe you’re bigger than the sport. And always — always — remember that leadership and sportsmanship are powerful examples that should be set by everyone involved in the game, whether player, umpire, sportscaster or fan.

“Perfect” game or no, I’m proud to be a Tigers fan today.