Baseball Commissioner, Bud Selig, must overrule bad umpire call that wiped out perfect game

[Better Believe It]

Selig must change the call
By Jon Paul Morosi
June 3, 2010

Jim Joyce fessed up. Oh, how he fessed up.

Now, it’s time for Bud Selig to take a stand and prevent Armando Galarraga’s brilliant night from becoming one of the biggest embarrassments in recent baseball history.

Wednesday’s story was supposed to end with Galarraga riding on the shoulders of his teammates, after completing the first perfect game in Tigers history. Instead, we found Joyce pacing back and forth in the umpire’s room at Comerica Park, wearing his skivvies and the grim look of a man who knew he had erred, profoundly and tragically.

Joyce initially was convinced he got the call correct. The on-field protests of Gerald Laird, Miguel Cabrera and Jim Leyland didn’t change his mind. No way. But then he retreated to the innards of Comerica Park, asked a clubhouse attendant to cue up the replay, and saw for himself.

I missed it,” Joyce said a few minutes later, almost in tears. “I missed it. … This isn’t ‘a call.’ This is a history call. And I kicked the s*** out of it.

“There’s nobody that feels worse than I do. I take pride in this job. … I took a perfect game away from that kid over there, who worked his ass off all night.”

As hard as this may be to believe, Joyce owes the public no further explanation. He said what he needed to say.

Now, it’s Selig's turn.

The commissioner must do the right thing: overturn Joyce’s call and credit Galarraga with the perfect game he deserves.

Selig can’t stand to have Galarraga, the Tigers and 17,738 paying customers feel like they were cheated out of their place in history. If that isn’t worthy of Selig invoking the “best interest of the game” clause, I don’t know what is.

The real truth is that Joyce’s conscience needs the reprieve worse than Galarraga’s resume. The welfare of Joyce, a longstanding MLB employee who has umpired in All-Star Games and World Series, is in the commissioner’s hands.

Joyce admitted that he made a horrible mistake. Selig is the only man who can save him from perpetual ridicule in Detroit.

Let me be clear: This is not a call for the broader use of instant replay. This is a straightforward, isolated case: When everyone agrees that a wrong has occurred, and there would be so little hardship in making the change, action must be taken to protect the game’s integrity.

Selig has been wary of expanding replay, for reasons I understand. But correcting one simple call, at the end of one game in June, is not going to open a Pandora’s Box of infinite protests and replay requests.

This was different. This was the 27th out of a BLEEPING PERFECT GAME — a mistake that had absolutely zero effect on which team won.

For all those who are worried about setting a precedent that changes the nature of baseball, I believe you would get unanimous support for the following rule change: If a pitcher is wronged out of a no-hitter or perfect game by an umpire’s call with two out in the ninth inning, and the umpire himself almost immediately declares that the call was incorrect, the pitcher should be awarded with what is rightfully his.

There. Let’s put that right in the book for next time. But for there to be a next time, there has to be a first time.

Bud Selig, and Bud Selig alone, has the chance to make this right for all who love baseball and its great history.

Don’t disappoint us.

Read the full article at:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Bud-Selig-must-overrule-call-that-wiped-out-perfect-game-060210?GT1=39002





THE PITCHER ALREADY HAS THE BALL IN HIS GLOVE AT FIRST BASE. THE RUNNER WAS CLEARLY OUT


See the video of the play at this MLB link:

http://detroit.tigers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100602&content_id=10727590&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=det

[Captain Hilts]

1. Lupica at NYDailyNews says the same thing. nt

[MidwestRick]

2. I hope Selig changes the ruling

He was clearly out.

-MR

[Better Believe It]

5. He has the power to do that and I believe all baseball fans would agree with changing the bad call.

[awoke_in_2003]

76. If Selig has to make a decision...

99% of the time it will be wrong.

[DrDan]

3. it'll never happen

[Papa Boule]

65. Be great if it did, though. n/t

[MicaelS]

4. Instant. Replay. NOW!!!

[Better Believe It]

10. That's not what it's all about and you should understand that.

Unless you think bad umpire calls that overturn a perfect game in the ninth inning after 26 outs are commonplace.

It's never happened before in the 150 plus years of professional baseball!

But, we could include the language proposed by the author in the baseball rules book .... unless you think that new rule would result in hundreds, if not tens of thousands, of instant replay decisions!

Get serious now, please.

[MicaelS]

12. I'm completely serious....

Explain WHY other sports can have instant replay, but not MLB?

I don't care about history, or tradition.

[Better Believe It]

18. But that's a seperate issue and not relevant to this one specific, unique incident.

One that impacts history and the integrity of the game.

[garybeck]

28. "get serious..."

we are serious...

instant replay, if done properly, could improve the accuracy of the calls significantly and improve the integrity of the game, without affecting the time of the game significantly.

they don't have to have a big conference every time there is a question. They can have an umpire watching the tv feed in real time, just like we are, and he can make corrective rulings in seconds.

I don't get it... you'd rather have bad calls and you think that somehow improves the game? talk about "get serious..."

logically speaking, anything that improves the accuracy of the calls and improves the integrity of the game should be seriously considered.

and don't tell me "it's part of the game." I've heard that before but it's bullshit. Show me where it says in the rulebook that bad calls are part of the game.

[awoke_in_2003]

79. yep, do it like football

give each manager one or maybe two challenges. But unlike football, put a real time limit on it- 30 seconds ought to be enough to see all angles multiple times.

[garybeck]

20. I agree 100000%

and it's not just because of this. I've been saying it for years.

Bad calls are not part of the game.

[City of Mills]

6. Can't happen

It would ruin the integrity of baseball.














































































}(

[Chisox08]

11. Integrity of baseball?

Didn't that get ruined when the some players felt it was a good idea to shoot steroids up their ass.

[cbdo2007]

40. The "integrity of baseball" is ruined more by bad calls than by overturned calls.

How can there be any integrity when the rules don't seem to matter all of a sudden and the entire game rests upon one guy and whatever he thinks he sees.

[S_E_Fudd]

7. Nope...part of the game...and it will open the floodgates...

To every past bad call that robbed a player or team...

[truebrit71]

13. Because every bad call robbed a pitcher of a perfact game on the last out of the ninth inning?

I don't think so...this will be overturned...and rightly so..

[S_E_Fudd]

17. World Series have been decided...

Player stats have been affected....

Won't happen

What do you do to the 28th batter...do you wipe his at bat off the books?

It happened...it will stay the way it is...and if baseball decides to institute instant replay cause of it...I'm fine with that...

But going back and changing the record books sets a bad precedent...

[truebrit71]

24. ..in the bottom of the ninth one out away from a perfect game...

...really?

When?

[S_E_Fudd]

27. You've been listening to Republicans too long...

You seem to have perfected the art of erecting the strawman...

[truebrit71]

30. You said World Series have been decided by bad calls like this..I asked you to back it up..

..you didn't...who is acting more republican in that scenario :eyes:

[S_E_Fudd]

35. I didn't say "like this"

I said worlds series have been decided by bad calls...

Ask Cardinals fans how they feel about the 1985 world series...

[truebrit71]

36. Were they at the end of a perfect game with one out left? No? Then they're not the same, are they?

This is a one-time situation where ALL of the participants admit, ADMIT, that the incorrect call was made. It would only set a precedent if the very same thing happened again, which is highly unlikely..

[S_E_Fudd]

37. Don Denkinger admitted his call in game 6 was blown...

And again...for the fourth time I said nothing about a world series perfect game being ruined by a bad call...

The precedent is going back to change the record books...

SHouldn't be done...and I don't think it will happen here

[truebrit71]

42. The precedent is correcting an erroneous call in a perfect game.

It has bugger all to do with the record books..and again, for the millionth time..you were the one equating this blown call with other alleged bad calls in World Series games...I calle dyou on it, and you havent' been able to back it up..

And yes..it should be done..and I think that it will most definitely happen here or Selig will bring further ridicule and contempt on the sport..

[S_E_Fudd]

Game 6 1985...

Blown call dramatically affected the outcome of the world series...

Reverse the situation...say the runner was called out when he was clearly safe...what would you advocate then?

[truebrit71]

48. Not the same scenario..ergo the "precedent" you are so worried about wouldn't apply..

..

[S_E_Fudd]

51. So you don't care about a bad call in that situation...nt

[truebrit71]

53. No.

Either way that call goes the game itself is just another notation in the record.

A PERFECT game being affected by this atrocious is something completely different..

[S_E_Fudd]

54. So it is more important for the pitcher to have that stat on his books...

Than the right of the offensive team to have a chance at a victory...?

[truebrit71]

60. Apples and oranges..

..

[S_E_Fudd]

45. Game 6 1985...

Blown call dramatically affected the outcome of the world series...

Reverse the situation...say the runner was called out when he was clearly safe...what would you advocate then?

[DrDan]

69. no way - it would set a horrible precedent

what if the play were reversed - that a player who was safe was incorrectly called out.

Would the Commissioner reverse the call? If so - then the game would be incomplete.


What if yesterday's "mistake" allowed a rally that cost the Tigers the game? Do you think the win-loss record should be reversed?


What if the error occurred in the second inning rather than the 9th? Should it also be reversed?


No - and Selig will realize the implication of his reversal.

No overturning of the call will be coming.

[Better Believe It]

14. That absolute 100% pure bull shit and I think you know that!

So baseball fan and expert .... answer this question.

How many times has an umpire made a bad call depriving a pitcher of a perfect game to the final hitter in the ninth inning?

Here .... I'll make it real easy for you. It's a multiple choice questions.


How many times had a bad umpire call deprived a player of pitching a perfect game?


A. A zillion times.

B. At least 1,000 times.

C. At least 100 times.

D. 10 times.

E. 1 time in the 150+ years of professional baseball and that happened yesterday.

OK. So what's your answer baseball wizard?

[S_E_Fudd]

19. Where did I say that there have been more cases of a perfect game being ruined...

However, Wold Series have been decided, player stats adversely affected, games decided...

Won't happen

[truebrit71]

22. Wanna bet on that?

..

[S_E_Fudd]

80. Sure...

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5248118

[Better Believe It]

26. So that means you're against Selig overruling the bad umpire call because

it would NOT have any impact on the World Series or who won the game last night!

If by your own admission this has never happened before in professional baseball and Selig's intervention would have absolutely no impact on the outcome of that game, what is your objection to doing the right thing?

[S_E_Fudd]

33. It sets a bad precedent...

The game is over...there was a 28th batter...does his at bat then get wiped off the books? Does the outfielder who made the 28th put out then get that taken off his stat sheet?

And going forward everytime there is a bad call that doesn't affect the outcome (scopre) of the game the player at the bad end of the call will whine about it and ask the commisioner to overturn the call...

Put in instant replay...I'm totally fine with that...but retroactively changing the record book is a bad idea...opens up a can of worms

[truebrit71]

38. It would only set a precedent if there was another situation like this in another perfect game...

..highly unlikely..

And yes, the fielder and the 28th batter have those stats removed because they shouldn't have occured in the first place..

[S_E_Fudd]

43. Uh no...

The precedent is retroactively changing the record book...

The one blatant example of it...putting an asterisk next to Roger Maris' 61 home run season...was rightfully corrected...

[truebrit71]

46. Uh, yes...The precedent is correcting a blatantly obvious bad call..

..

[S_E_Fudd]

50. Sorry...no....

Guess we will have to agree to disagree...

[Better Believe It]

39. You mean it could happen a lot?

Perhaps even one time in the next 150 years?

You're really struggling hard to back up your argument with some strawman.

Who is proposing that "everytime there is a bad call that doesn't affect the outcome (scopre) of the game the player at the bad end of the call will whine about it and ask the commisioner to overturn the call..."

Did the author of the article suggest that?

Did I suggest that?

Did any DU'er suggest doing that in this discussion?

As you know, the answer to all of the above is NO!

And do you really think that will happen if Selig overturns the obviously wrong call?

Of course you don't.

So stop with the strawman argument already! OK?

[S_E_Fudd]

52. The logical outcome of a decision to retroactively change the record book...

eom

[LanternWaste]

44. What one may see as a bad precedent...

What one may see as a bad precedent may just as validly be seen by others as a rectification. Six of one, half a dozen of the other... I imagine deciding which it is depends more on one's own perspective and less on policy.

[scheming daemons]

21. Bad calls have cost teams the World Series

It's tragic, but it happens.


Can't be undone.

[GodlessBiker]

73. Would it matter if it were the first batter who was improperly called safe...

but all subsequent batters were properly called out?

Would that make a difference as to whether the Commissioner should change the call?

[garybeck]

23. Show me where in the rule book it says that bad calls are part of the game

I'm so sick of hearing that as an excuse.

Bad calls are NOT part of the game. They have been, because we have not had the technology to do anything about it.

Now we have the technology and we should do something about it.

There is NOTHING that says it's part of the game. Please stop repeating something that is false.

[Rabrrrrrr]

62. Bad calls ARE a part of the game because we have human players and human umpires.

And thus, bad calls become part of the game because everyone fucks up once in a while. We want those fuckups rarely, sure; but they are still part and parcel of any human endeavor, whether it be baseball, bridge building or ballet.

[garybeck]

64. No, wrong... That doesn't mean we have to continue doing it that way

the argument that "it's part of the game" is completely false.

there is nothing in the rule book that states it is part of the game. IT IS NOT PART OF THE GAME.

It has been part of the game until now, because humans have been the only way to make calls. Now we have something better. There is nothing in the rules, nothing in "the game" that says we have to keep doing something that is bad for the game.

If it was "part of the game" it would say so in the rule book. It would say that umpires should make bad calls. It would say that umpires are not allowed to use computers or cameras to improve their accuracy. It doesn't say anythign like that. It's NOT part of the game.

GEESH.

[Rabrrrrrr]

68. yes, it IS part of the game. Since there is no provision for changing calls,

it is, ipso facto, part of the game.

you yourself admitted it in the first part of your statement: "that doesn't mean we have to continue doing it that way".

Which is, of course, true - we can add instant replay and other devices for changing bad calls and making up for mistakes. But as the game stands now, without any changes, bad calls ARE part of the game.

Whether they should be or not is a different matter entirely separate from the very real, very plain, ludicrously obvious FACT that bad calls are part of the system since there is nothing (apart from commissioner intervention) to take them away at this point. I can almost agree that since we have the technology, we might as well use it - but I also like that baseball continues to be unpolluted by technical intervention of that sort, and is still a very human (and thus also fallible) game. Makes it a lot more interesting in my opinion, and one reason why I find baseball more enjoyable than most every other sport.

and please, watch your language - your argument is silly to think that because the rules don't say specifically "you have to make bad calls" that bad calls are therefore not part of the game. Hilarious! Interesting bit of illogical spin there. The truth is that bad calls are part of the game because the rules say that the ump's call is final, and we all know that umps sometimes make bad calls, and the rules do not provide for a way to change those calls post facto. Ergo, bad calls are assumed to be part of the game. Not as a requirement (as you sillily imply) but as a natural result of human error.

[garybeck]

74. OK, so as you admit....

bad calls are part of the game, NOW.

that doesn't mean they have to continue to be part of the game.

which means it is NOT AN ARGUMENT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY.

The fact that it is (painfully obvious that it is) part of the game now has nothing to do with what we should do about it. In fact, it's an argument of WHY WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

So why then do people keep saying "it's part of the game" when they are trying to make the argument that we should not institute instant replay? It is completely illogical.

It's like saying rain is part of the game so we shouldn't have retractable roofs.

It's like saying sickness is part of life so we shouldn't have drugs.

YES, IT'S PART OF THE GAME, but it is a PROBLEM, a SHORTCOMING of the game, and it should be fixed. simply because it is part of the game is not in itself a reason to do nothing about it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

87. Indeed - I never said that bad calls MUST continue to be part of the game.

I was merely countering your argument that you implied earlier - which you perhaps didn't mean to imply - that bad calls are NOT part of the game.

Semantics, maybe; but it's an important point in relation to the specific issue of the OP: which is that, as the game is TODAY, *bad calls are part of the system* and therefore this call SHOULD NOT (and really, cannot without violating the rules) be reversed.

big difference to argue about what is versus arguing about what ought to be.

personally, as I said up above, I'd rather keep baseball free of the pollution of technology and keep it a purely human game. But, there's certainly reason that the rules can't be changed to allow it. The rules have been changed before, and surely will be changed in other ways about other things that come up in the future (imagine zero-gravity three-dimensional baseball games!).

[DrDan]

71. they are a part of the game - that does not mean they are a "rule"

They occur with some degree of frequency. They decide games. To deny they occur is just simply silly.

Sure - instant replay. Works for college football - why not baseball. But the reason is to correct "bad calls". If they were not a part of the current game, there would be no need for this technology.

[cbdo2007]

41. Rules are more a "part of the game" than bad calls are.

If the rules don't seem to matter anymore then all you have are "bad calls"

[hughee99]

94. I remember when those flood gates opened up after the Brett's pine-tar home run...

except in that case, the call on the field was, in fact, correct, the game was finished weeks later, and resulted in a different team winning the game.

[Missy Vixen]

8. I changed my opinion on Jim Joyce

It took courage for him to admit he was wrong. He has offered a sincere apology. I have no idea why he called the runner safe; maybe the angle wasn't as clear to him as it was the rest of us watching on TV and all over the Web. At the same time, there are few figures now that have the guts to stand up and say they were wrong.

I agree that Selig needs to overturn the call. I also believe he needs to institute limited instant replay in major league baseball.

[scheming daemons]

9. Not possible.

Umpire mistakes are part of the game. Should we retroactively go back an un-do every other bad call an umpire has made in the history of baseball?

No matter the reason, the pitcher faced 28 batters. That 28th batter had an at-bat. You can't wipe it from the record books and pretend it didn't occur. The runner who got on base made it all the way to 3rd base before the inning ended. Those bases are in the record books. You can't wipe them clean.

Lots of sporting events in our history have had their outcome determined by an official's bad call.

MLB doesn't have instant replay for calls on the base paths. The umpire's call is final.

Some percentage of the time the replay will show that the umpire was wrong.


He should be reprimanded and not given a playoff assignment. But you can't change the result because of it.


Umpire mistakes are as much a part of baseball as the hit-and-run and the 7th-inning stretch.


It sucks.... but Galarraga faced 28 batters. It cannot be changed now.

[louis-t]

29. Hey, that's right. If over-turned, 28th batter

would not be an at-bat.

[S_E_Fudd]

57. And the defensive player...

Would have a put out taken off his stat sheet...

[Better Believe It]

67. And I don't think the batter or pitcher would object to that! So what's the problem?

It's just correcting a terrible mistake which is easily correctible.

[Coyote_Bandit]

15. The Commissioner needs

to be pressured to overrule the call. And that pressure needs to come from the ump that made the call, the home plate mp working the game, and the losing team. And it needs to be public

Not that I think it will happen. Baseball has a long history of closing its eyes and ignoring wrongs (can you say steroid abuse).

[Better Believe It]

16. And I would add pressure from baseball fans.

[PassingFair]

25. Who gives a rat's ass?

The guy will be more famous as the "guy who pitched a no-hitter and didn't get credit for it"
than he ever would have it the call hadn't been screwy.

But really? What changes in the universe?

[Better Believe It]

32. Pitching a perfect game is the ultimate pitcher accomplishment.

It's not about being "famous".

And it appears you don't know the difference between pitching a no hitter and pitching a perfect game.

You obviously are not a sports fan and probably not a participant so this means nothing to you.

Sports participants and fans do give a damn.

Why shouldn't we?

[PassingFair]

34. Because it has no significance.

It changes absolutely nothing.

And he will be better remembered in the "books"
when they will mention that he "pitched a perfect game"
(whatever THAT is) but was robbed by a bad call,
than he would otherwise.

[Better Believe It]

49. Clearly sports have no significance in your life.

"he "pitched a perfect game"(whatever THAT is)"

Right. What the hell is that? :)

Do you know what a baseball is?

Do you ever exercise on anything other than a keyboard?

Perhaps you need to get outside more .... fresh air .... do some walking or hiking .... maybe even play a little baseball or basketball .... hell .... you might even want to witness a baseball game .... not on TV but at a ballpark! Nah! You won't.

So sad.

[PassingFair]

83. Hey, I have a life.

I walk, I hike, hell, I've even played basketball...AND baseball (only if I HAD to).

I just don't get worked up over sports.

You are apparently so worked up that you take personal shots at posters
on the internet just because they aren't worked up into a lather like you are.

So sad.
:(

[BeatleBoot]

92. My fellow Michigander

I'm sorry, but I SOOO disagree with you.

Respectfully.

Mr. Galarraga would gladly have the record books reflect reality and forget about any noteriety that the bad call has thrusted upon his work and career.

Please trust me on this one.

Even if you can't understand it.


And to answer your question about "what changes in the universe?", well justice would be served.

Justice.

To me, this is a metaphor for every hard working person out there who gets screwed by their employer.

He works his ass off - day in and day out - and in the end, he doesn't get what's coming to him - respect, dignity and justice.

Bud Selig, Baseball Commissioner needs to resign immediately.

He just pissed on one of his employees.

[GodlessBiker]

31. It's pointless. If Selig overrules the call, Galarraga's "perfect" game will still have an asterisk

next to it ("The Commissioner made this game perfect days after the game by overruling an umpire's call.").

[Better Believe It]

55. Why would it? I won't put an asterisk by it. Will you?

The record is simple being corrected and the perfect game is not being diminished in any way .... it's simply being recognized by all of baseball and all baseball fans for what it is .... a perfectly pitched baseball game.

[GodlessBiker]

61. It will be an administratively created perfect game. I don't even think the pitcher...

will think of it as the perfect game he would have pitched absent the call. Kind of a let down by now, no?

Moreover, fielding errors have cost pitchers a perfect game, as well.

This is just one of life's "Aw fuck" moments.

[Better Believe It]

70. No. The pitcher in fact pitched a perfect game. A ruling by Selig would

simply recognize the truth and reality. He did in fact pitch a perfect game, period. Selig would not be "awarding" the pitcher something he didn't truly earn and is obviously entitled to.

[Seneca]

47. Baseball is like life

Sometimes there are bad calls, and no do-overs.

And like life, no guarantees.

Time to stop the crybabying about this.

[Better Believe It]

58. It's not a "do-over". It's correcting an obvious mistake that is easily correctible.

So baseball is not at all like life .... in this specific case the error can and should be corrected .... mistakes made in our daily lives are not always correctible and are usually a lot more complex and difficult to correct than a blown baseball call.

So that isn't a very good analogy at all.

[Seneca]

90. There's no crying in baseball!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

56. I saw this on the AM news and cursed out loud. I hope the ump's

really really bad call will be overruled. Galarraga deserves his perfect game.

[bigwillq]

59. I say No

But do call for expanded instant replay.

I feel the call should stand.

[Ernesto]

63. Show some balls Bud! nt

[road2000]

66. Selig COULD pull a SCOTUS...

...and state that the reversal is never to be used as precedent.

Seriously, I think he should overrule, and consider wider use of instant replay.

[Shrek]

72. MSNBC: Selig won’t overturn call that cost perfect game

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37479309/ns/sports-baseball/

[Better Believe It]

77. Milt Pappas just called Selig "gutless". Keith Oberman doesn't like the decision either.

[Are_grits_groceries]

75. There was a precedent set in 1991 when 50 no-hitters were thrown out.

There used to be many more no-hitters on the record books, but in September 1991 the Committee on Statistical Accuracy, chaired by then MLB Commissioner Fay Vincent, changed the official definition of a no hitter, declaring it a game of nine innings or more that ends with no hits. That leaves 266 sanctioned no-hitters (243 in the A.L. and N.L.), detailed here.

The stringent definition eliminated 38 no-hitters from the books that were shortened by rain or darkness and losing efforts by the away team in which the home team doesn’t bat in the bottom of the ninth.

It also wiped out 12 no-hitters by pitchers who threw nine innings of no-hit ball only to yield a hit in extra innings. That narrow definition kept Pedro Martinez out of the exclusive no-no club, even though his ball is featured in the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s “No-Nos and Perfectos” exhibit. Martinez threw nine innings of perfect ball on June 3, 1995, but his Expos couldn’t score a run and Martinez wound up giving up a hit in the 10th. It’s not considered a no-hitter.
http://www.nonohitters.com/near-no-hitters /

They changed the rule and made it retroactive. Rules are apparently changed at times when MLB deems it to be necessary.
They put an asterisk by Roger Maris's name when he broke the HR record for a year. They said it was because he played more games than Babe Ruth. They monkey with the rules when they want to.

I am torn about changing it. However, they can't claim they never do change anything a lot.

[JackDragna]

78. You make a good point..

..but there's a difference between changing how something is categorized and actually changing a call. I don't know if a commissioner has ever changed a call that didn't involve an incorrect interpretation of a rule.

[Are_grits_groceries]

81. They changed the rule and

retroactively screwed with the older records. It wasn't as if the rule was misinterpreted. They just didn't like the way it was defined.

What if they decide to change the RBI rules? What if they didn't like you counting yourself as an RBI when you hit a homerun??
:hi:

[JackDragna]

82. I think that'd be nuts..

..but the point I'm trying to make here is the difference between changing a rule about something is categorized and changing event "X" to event "Y." For example, if a pitcher throws eleven-innings of no-hit ball, but gives up a hit in the twelfth, whether the pitcher threw a "no-hitter" doesn't change the pitcher's stat line. I guess I'm concerned if baseball had changed a call on the field, since it would truly open up the floodgates. Baseball probably has more borderline calls than any sport. They even let individual umpires get away with having slightly different strike zones. By what standard, say, would the commissioner change a blown call to give a pitcher a perfect game, but deny another team a win if a pitcher obviously walked a batter with bases loaded and a full count, but instead was given credit for a strikeout?

[Are_grits_groceries]

84. As I said I'm torn about changing it.

There are always exceptions, but... I have argued with myself all day. I do understand your argument.

I still don't like the DH. Takes away a lot of the strategy in games IMHO. It also makes the leagues unequal in a major way.

[JackDragna]

85. Heh. I love the DH.

It extends the life of good hitters. Most pitchers are just abysmal batters, as well. I'm not much for having each team having three or so at-bats during the game where the ninth-place hitter is going to strike out or ground out weakly. If I had my druthers, the National League would have to DH, too. :)

[Are_grits_groceries]

88. Either do it in both leagues or don't do it at all.

It screws up the teams during interleague play and the World Series. They have to change their lineups too much, and they aren't used to playing regularly with or without the DH unless they are in the AL.

[dajoki]

86. I don't think the call could or should be changed n/t

[Mudoria]

89. Leave the call as it is

Yes the ump blew the call but Selig should not retroactively change the outcome. That's a slippery slope I'm not to sure any baseball fan wants to start down. Besides, the bigger news of the day was "The Kid" retired, the best player I saw in my lifetime.

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[Name removed]

91. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Onceuponalife]

93. Nothing to see here. Time to move along.

It was a bad call but it's done. Over with. Deal with it. Time to stop crying and get on with your life. Galarraga has.