It’s one of the most infamous mistakes in sports history.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was denied a perfect game in 2010 when an umpire erroneously ruled that the 27th batter, with two outs in the ninth inning, had beaten a throw to first base.
The umpire and the batter both admitted the call was wrong, but Major League Baseball’s commissioner refused to overturn the umpire’s decision and award Galarraga the 21st perfect game in the sport’s 134-year history. Support to overturn came from the White House, the governor of Michigan and all corners of the media.
Add a new group to that list: 16 members of a Monmouth University “Law and Society” course and their professor, retired New Jersey Superior Court judge Lawrence Jones, have submitted an 82-page document to current MLB commissioner Rob Manfred that makes a case for Galarraga’s addition to the list of perfect games.
Frame grab from Fox Sports Detroit of Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga losing his perfect game when umpire Jim Joyce ruled Cleveland Indians’ Jason Donald safe at first base, which would have been the last out of the game, Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at Comerica Park.
Galarraga, who is now retired from baseball and living in Texas, was so touched by the effort that he conducted a Zoom meeting with the students to tell his story and express appreciation.
“It’s amazing, what they’ve done,” he told the Asbury Park Press via phone last week. “I’m floored.”
The point of the project is…