Surely by now, everyone is familiar with Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga and his near perfect game that was lost by a missed call by an umpire. As unique as this story is, perhaps the most under-reported aspect of it has been the sportsmanship and maturity exhibited by both the pitcher and the umpire. I really don’t think either of them could have handled the situation any better.
This blog entry dissects some of the deeper themes of this difficult situation. Here’s an excerpt:
Armando Galarraga showed great mercy and grace. He could have gotten quite upset that Joyce missed the call. He could have petitioned MLB to reverse the call. But he didn’t. In fact, after the botched call he went back to the mound and got the next guy out. Our culture is not used to this. Galarraga knows that he is imperfect and he makes mistakes, therefore he can empathize with Joyce.
In a tangible demonstration of this mercy Galarraga brought out the lineup card to Joyce before today’s game. This brought a roar from the crowd and tears from the umpire. This too is good for us to see. It is good themes of imperfection, justice, contrition, and mercy to intersect with us. We need to see it.
