Clay- i don't know if you realize this, but this is hands down the worst call in the history of sports. This wasn't just you're average blown call. This was made on the 27th out that cost this young man Baseball immortality. only 20 people in the history of major league ball have thrown perfect games, that's an average of 1 every 7-8 years. This was the rarest feat in baseball washed away on a call that should have been made correctly. As baseball expert Tim Kurkjian said, an umpire will make this call correctly 100,000 out of 100,001 times. What we just saw was one of the biggest events in the history of baseball for all the wrong reasons. To compare this to just an "average" baseball game is beyond abusrd.

Ump infallibility is part of the game. Live with it.

Jake. Agreed. This is not just a "blown call". AND it isn't as if it was such an incredibly close call that you can give the umpire a pass and say, "hey, in that split second it could have gone either way". As you eloquently stated, this was the 27th out of the minimum possibility of 27 players to the plate. It was a precision game by the pitcher, and perfectly executed to the end. (or perceived end) He unequivocably got to the bag, had the ball in glove, and easily 6 inches ahead of the runners foot hitting the bag. An absolute horrendous call by Jim Joyce. I have in the past taken issue with Joyce's attitude and arrogance at times... however i give him credit as a man for after the fact realizing, as he put it, the worst call that he has ever made. You can give a pass on something ultra close, but this wasn't that. It was clear. It was the 27th out of a perfect game.

Selig - earn your stripes. Overturn the call and give this kid the "perfect game" for the history books.

Patrick/Jake -

I am sorry, but I disagree wit you both. Answer me this...Where do you draw the line? Anytime it is the 27th out of the game? Baseball has lived under the guise that the umpires are a human part of the game since it's inception. There has never been any conditions put upon them when making a call, right or wrong. That IS a part of the integrity of the game. As blown a call as it was, as important of a call it was and how it dramatically altered an historic event, changing it would be inconsistent to how baseball has managed the game up to this point. Therefore the integrity of the game would be challenged, with would be bad for the game. Leave it alone and learn from it. If you want to have a discussion about instant replay, that is different and a appropriate discussion to have but to change this call would open up Pandora's baseball box. My belief is that the commissioner will come to this same conclusion if he hasn't already.

I agree with Clay/TTAnthony.

Unfortunately for Galarraga, the Umpire blew it by a mile. Whether it's a perfect game, or a "Jeffery Mair" reaching over the wall to catch a ball... It's part of the game. Without that kid reaching into the field, my Yankees probably don't win that game, that series, or possibly even the world series. This may be a prompt for MLB to make an instant reply rule, but that rule shouldn't be retroactive to 1 play. Then, the argument could be made for having every suspect call this year, last year etc... reviewed. But where does it stop? I think umpiring seems to be getting worse, or maybe it's always been this bad? I'm sure more camera angles, HDTV and constant analysis aren't helping matters any. Sounds like some people want this game played on their PS3's, rather than by live ballplayers.... People will always make mistakes, it's part of the game and we have to live with the good and the bad.. Sorry Galarraga, you didn't get a perfect game, but I have a feeling this story will live on...

As many have pointed out, umpire's decisions are part of baseball. What those people fail to grasp is that an umpire's decision can also be officially protested, in which case the decision is either upheld or – as was the case in the famous George Brett pine tar bat incident – overturned.

This is a clear cut case for an official protest, and the umpire's call, which he admits was in error, should be overturned.

Hey, stuff happens. But this one should be overturned because it was the last out of the game and clearly the guy was out. Not much controversy there.

This call by the umpire is not a protestable decision. According to MLB rules, only issues regarding an interpretation of the rules can be protested. Judgment calls cannot.

The pine tar incident was a rules interpretation based on the quoted distance from the bat knob pine tar could be applied to the bat handle. The issue from last night was a straight out ump's call on a play (like balls & strikes). So it can't be protested by the Tigers.

If this happened to a 27 time, World Series Champions, The Legendary New York Yankees pitcher, none of this pity party would happen, and the call on the field would stand. This just goes to show the disparity in fairness between every MLB team, with exception to the World Series Champions.

Wholeheartedly disagree with Clay, TT Anthony, and George. How can bad officiating be considered part of the "integrity of the game?" If anything, it's part of the LACK of integrity from which baseball now suffers. The owners' disregard for most of the fans in favor of wealthy corporate clients; the widespread steroid use; the fact that games used to take about 2 hours but now take nearly 4, because the hitters are allowed to step out of the box after EVERY pitch -- 20 years ago they would have been called out for delay of game! And baseball has always resisted the instant replay because it realizes that this would expose the fact that it has the worst officiating of any major sport. I ask you: if the umpire's blown call is sacrosanct despite the fact that EVERYONE knows he was wrong, what's the point of even playing the game? Let's just have the umpires sit down at the beginning and decide who they think will win, and then we can all go home. Baseball needs the instant reply decision NOW, or else it will become even more of a relic.

It is moronic to say this was the worst call ever or that it wasn't a close call. Galarraga caught the ball before his foot was on the bag. It's easy to call it while watching slo-mo, but in fact, it was a very close play and the ump can't be blamed for missing it.

You gotta love MassiveDynamic's post. So typical of the Yankees and their fans -- It's not about the Yankees, Massive, get a grip. And you're completely wrong, if it happened to the vaunted Yankees, there'd be so much whining it would be unbearable. Geez.......

If notoriety is due a pitcher for a perfect game - then Gallaraga's perfect game will stand out forever.

If Selig overturns the call, it will really mess up the game - right down to little league. The game is bigger than MLB.

I say, let the call stand or change the game forever. It's too risky.

I'm a Tiger fan, by the way.

For once, MassiveDynamic, I have to agree with you. If this had happened to a pitcher who played for the "Evil Empire", you're right about the fact that people would think he deserved it.

I'm not a follower of baseball as a business, but am I mistaken in thinking that MLB teams have no salary cap, like the NFL does? Is there still a Steinbrenner who owns the team, with a virtually unlimited family fortune at his disposal to throw at free agents? You seem to think the Yankees of today are made of the same stuff as the Yankees of yore. Well, my man, today's Yankees couldn't hold a candle to the storied teams of the past. Why? Because they developed players through the farm system; they weren't a collection of high-priced free agents who are, in essence, an all-star team today. I know it sounds like "sour grapes" to you, but that's why most people in the U.S. hate the Yankees. I don't mean just dislike them....they inspire hatred and loathing. And, you better believe the country cheered en masse when the Red Sox came back from three games down to knock the mighty Yankees on their a$$ and out of the post-season in 2004. Dude, I laughed until I was sore at the Bronx Bombers after that series!! What a great season that was!!

If Selig overturns the call, it will really mess up the game - right down to little league. The game is bigger than MLB.

If getting something RIGHT is messing up the game, mess it up. And I am NOT a Tigers fan. I am just a fan of fairness, and not overturning this OBVIOUSLY bad call is not fair to the pitcher who deserves it, or the umpire who will have to live with this for the rest of his life.

If this happened to a 27 time, World Series Champions, The Legendary New York Yankees pitcher, none of this pity party would happen, and the call on the field would stand.

Hogwash. I hate the Yankees, and I would want the call overturned if it was the Yankees playing the Marlins. It is what is right.

Forget about Silig. Silig should say to the umpire to overturn it himself. He had control over making the wrong call, he admitted that he made the wrong call, so let him reverse it so he can wipe the slate clean. That's the fair way. Then the umpire can be let off the hook and keep umpiring. The fans are satified and the pitcher gets the perfect game . Everybody wins. The blown call only stands out so much because of the rare historicity of a perfect game.

The 86% of you that agree that Bud Selig, arguably the worst commissioner in baseball history since Mountain Landis, should make this call obviously do not understand or appreciate baseball. Baseball is a game of rules. The rules give the UMPIRE, not the commissioner, not the players, not the coaches, managers, owners, and certainly not the fans or public sentiment the obligation of making calls. Baseball has a great history and IS America's pastime. It does not require tampering or rule changes. We play the game with 3 strikes and 4 balls. We play the game on different fields of different proportions. We play the game without metal bats and we play it without technology. Baseball needs an instant replay like Wrigley Field needed lights.

Sadly, for Armando Galarraga, the ruling stands. As it always has, and as it always must. World Series have been won and lost on "bad Calls". Of course, there are no bad calls. When I was playing, a friend of mine slid into second base just as the throw from the outfield was coming in. The second baseman called my friend out. My friend, still on the ground with his hand touching second based yelled up to the umpire that he was safe. The umpire looked at the second baseman and then at my friend and said, "son, you ain't nothin" until I say you are sumpthin". That umpire should be right as long as baseball is played. Anywhere. At any level.

Baseball is a game of rules. The rules give the UMPIRE, not the commissioner, not the players, not the coaches, managers, owners, and certainly not the fans or public sentiment the obligation of making calls.

When the UMPIRE admits his fault and admits that he was wrong-- that he made a bad call-- it's obvious that the call should be overturned in a case like this. This is history we're talking about.

Baseball is not worth watching I see blown call all the time!!! I'll stick to a honest game football!!

'Twas a PG - Selig should have the guts to make it official. If Donald had guts, class, & had thought quickly, he should have walked off the field, & the Tribe shouldn't have sent up another batter -- all fines be damned. That wouldn't have made it officially PG, but it would've shown class. If Selig wants an out, let him poll the Indians. --A Tribe Fan for 50 Years & Counting

I completely agree with EVERYTHING you just said here "Mosesmugsy"! As painful as it is to re-watch that play, we all need to sit back and remember that he is human and we all make mistakes. Yes-Some mistakes carry more consequences than others but does that make the person worse? No, it just makes underlines how unfortunate the whole situation is. We as fan's have instant replay, and in an attempt to give him the benefit of the doubt, he had to judge the play at full speed. I still don't think you give the runner the play but...Okay, I'm a Tiger fan...I'm really trying hard to play nice right now. I feel bad for the guy, but sometimes actions need to occur. Example. I'm driving home and I lose control of my car, smash into a tree, but i'm fine. Consequence: Slap on the wrist for _____— and losing control of my car. Example Two. I'm driving home and I lose control of my car, swerve into the left lane, smash into another car, and kill them. Consequence: Loss of freedom, jail time. Fast forward to tonight's game. He makes that same play earlier in the game when the perfect game wasn't being looked at. Consequence: "oh geeze, that was a bad call...oh hey, dad can you grab me a beer?" Error eluded! We all know what really happened though, and unfortunately it needs to carry a different consequence. He needs to be let go. He is an amazing ump but you just can not make that bad of a call! If he doesn't get let go, I wouldn't be surprised to see him retire. As much as I feel for the guy, it's just part of life. Consequences suck, but sometimes you just have to chew what you bite off. Give him the game, he worked his ass off all night, and he deserves it. He didn't get to walk off the field with a standing "o". He didn't get the teammate mob. All he received for his hard work was a broken heart! The least you could do for the kid is put his name in the record books, cause lets face it. He pitched a perfect game, whether Jimmy boy called him safe or not. We call know it, and I fully expect Bud to come out tomorrow with a statement agreeing with me.

What matters the most is, that Selig doesn't need Guts to reverse the decision, because you use your gut when you are not sure if your decision will be unpopular, controversial or if it will dislike baseball fans, this poll perfectly shows that more than 87% of fans would clap at Selig's decision if he overturns the play... This decision might take Bud Selig to the Oval Office in 2012 Elections...

Jim Joyce manned up and admitted it was a blown call and instead of damaging his credibility, prestige and integrity as too many umps with chips-on-their-shoulders would claim, Jim's unequivocal admission of an error makes him a giant in terms of credibility and integrity.

He needs to be let go.

You see, this is exactly why they need to institute some form of instant replay into the game now. We are human, we are not robots. Human beings can make mistakes. You don't fire a veteran player for misplaying a ball. I think this assuption that the umpires are like God and their calls are final no matter what gives them too much power, and too much pressure. If this ump had stood by his call even after seeing the replay and said "too bad, that was the call", then yes, I would say fire his ass. But he almost feels worse than Galarraga over this. This will haunt him for the rest of his life. Some people have comitted suicide for less. I say reverse the call, keep the ump, give the kid the perfect game he deserves, and spare Joyce of never being able to sleep at night for the rest of his life. Galarraga got a perfect game, whether the record books show it or not. Selig needs to step up and do his job. He is the commissioner. It's time to commish.

How can any sport involving human ability and judgement lend itself to perfection? Sanctity of baseball sir? Under what sacred category do we place steroids, illegal betting, player strikes and owner lock outs, bloated salaries, and payoffs to throw games. Instead of grasping at vague and poorly grounded statements like "the sport needs to remain sacred," I suggest we take an adult view of how the game has changed, and what we can do to stabilize baseball's rules and how those rules are administered. There is a rule for every situation in baseball, but there are no guidelines for harboring a child like approach to the game like keeping it sacred. Next time, let's see if Santa can call home plate.

Wait a second, sounds like you are saying the kid should remain robbed? Is that what you are saying? Cause if so, that would make you worse than Jim Joyce. Baseball in of itself is not perfect, thats why human beings use common sense to get as close as possible.

I feel for Gallaraga but the sport needs to remain sacred.

Did you say this when blacks were first allowed to play in the league? When the games started to be shown on TV? In 1887 we didn't have the technology to make sure calls were right. Now we do. It is time to take the game out of the umps' hands and let the players decide the outcome. Replay EVERY questionable call? Maybe not. But in this case, recognizing a pitcher who pitched a perfrect game IS keeping the sport sacred. Not to do so will forever be a black mark on the sport, and the perfect game statistic.

Remain sacred? Sacred? Yes, with steroids, HGH, and the like, not to mention attrocious salaries, the game was made not "sacred" a long time ago.

Its not about "giving" the kid his perfect game. He earned it. The ump blew the call, everyone knows it, and intentionally not correcting this wrong will only diminish what sacredness remains in the game, as little as that may be.

instant replay will make a game that normally lasts between 3-1/2 hours or longer into a game that may never end.... Selig needs to take this opportunity to make a PG a PG and be done with it.

I understand the argument against IR due to extending the game. But I don't believe that needs to be the case. There's already 2 to 3 minutes between batters as it is - plenty of time for an official replay review - without stopping the game, unless the call needs reversed.

The same style used in college football would work well. It's not like baseball is a timed sport with a hurry up and get to the line, like in football - so no stoppage of play is needed. There's plenty of time already built in to the game. Then if the replay official sees an error he can signal the crew chief - and then make it right. And, in football, there's a ton of rules that need to be considered which makes it take longer. In baseball, it's a matter of "did the runner beat the throw", "was the ball trapped", and so on. So no, it does not have to slow the game down one bit. It might even speed it up - less arguements from coaches. If you have IR and the coach argues the call stopping play, then make a call against the coach similar to a balk, for delaying the game.

I don't believe for one minute that it has to prolong a game. We already see the results now in instant replay, before the next pitch is thrown.

I have always remained a purist, but after the steroid scandals (et al), I'm not sure there's a lot of purity left to preserve. For purity sake, the game was meant to be played outside. But that hasn't stopped the domes from being built. Times change. And maybe my long-held belief in the purity of the game needs to change as well.

I will not spew vile comments towards Joyce. (I'll reserve that for umps that make bad calls but never admit to them). Joyce, Gallaraga and the teams as well, were very classy in their handling of this mistake. Maybe it's time Selig did something classy, too.

I see so many people talking about wanting to add instant replay and review EVERY questionable call...do you people understand what that would do to the length of a baseball game!!!! We have finally sped up the pace by letting pitchers go to their mouth on the mound now you want to add 30 minutes to an hour to every game to question every little thing! Are we going to start questioning every pitch - where will you draw the line??? I don't agree with Selig if he overturns the call...yes the guy was clearly out but what about all the pitches he threw what if one of those strikes really wasn't a strike - that would have totally changed the landscape of the game.

I don't think anybody is saying every pitch should be questioned. But a kicked call like this should be able to be overturned. The umpires are not God. Stop giving them that power.