The (Un) Perfect Game and Stand Up Guys

I'm driving home Wednesday night listening to the Detroit Tigers game against the Cleveland Indians. Being from Detroit, XM Radio allows me to listen to my home town team when the Phillies aren't playing. Low and behold, Armando Galaragga had retired 21 Indians in a row. No hits, errors or walks. I got home as the Tigers finished batting in the 8th and turned on MLB Network with one out in the top of the 9th. I think most Americans know what happened next. Jim Joyce, know as an excellent umpire, missed the call (badly) on what should have been the final out and preserved the third perfect game of the season and the 21st in the history of baseball.

There are a lot of angles on this story. Last July, I wrote about Mark Buerhle's perfect game being a sum of all the parts. In a perfect game, everything has to go right. I didn't mention the umpires, but clearly they have to be perfect too. The call Jim Joyce made was atrocious and will haunt him the rest of his career. But there is a silver lining to this story and lessons for all of us. The next day, Jim Joyce stood in front of the cameras and stated unequivocally that he made a mistake. He apologized and took all questions asked of him. Jim Leyland, the Tigers' manager, stated in his press conference that Jim Joyce is an excellent ump and he made a mistake but showed support for Joyce. Most important, Armando Galarraga, showed real class by not bad mouthing Joyce and accepting his apology. Best of all, Galarraga took the line up card to home plate the next day where Joyce was the home plate ump. It was an emotional scene as Joyce openly wept and Galarraga patted him on the back.

What's the lesson for us and our organization? Many. How many of us admit our mistakes? In my experience, not many. Jim Joyce could have avoided the press and said he did his best. Instead, he acknowledged his error and asked for forgiveness to the only person that counts-Galarraga. Think of all the buck passing in organizations to try to cover up a mistake or not be called out. In my experience, those that admit they are wrong or made a mistake are forgiven and the assumption is it won't happen again. Why don't more of us admit it? We take the heat once and we're done. It may be that they don't feel their organization will watch their back and support them. These are usually the same organizations that have high turnover and pay headhunting fees to bring new talent on board.

We can't expect perfection, but we can strive for perfection every day. Armando Galarraga was perfect on June 2nd, but Jim Joyce wasn't. Maybe that explains why there have been 20 perfect games thrown in baseball's history. Remember, you can't control all events, but you can control your reaction. Jim Joyce, Jim Leyland and Armando Galarraga were perfect in their reaction.