Way OT: Villain to Hero---Jim Joyce's transformation is complete
Most here are likely (as the baseball fans on this board seem to be predominately Detroit Tiger fans) to remember Jim Joyce as the 1st Base umpire who blew the 9th inning call in what would have been a Perfect Game for Armando Galarraga in the 2010 season. As I recall, what initially was an ugly situation that night quickly evolved into nearly a completely "feel-good' situation when Joyce showed sincere contrition for his bad call, while Galarraga publicly forgave Joyce. Both men showed the Sports World what total class is all about, by taking the high road in a situation where many would struggle.
I just came across this new story about Jim Joyce tonight:
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120821&content_id=37090842&vk…
Turns out Joyce stepped up to the plate again in a crisis and proceeded to be instrumental in saving a life. Next time I'm at a ballgame and cuss out an umpire, I'm gonna make sure first that the Ump isn't Joyce, who, IMO, has earned a free pass from me for the rest of his umpiring career!
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:06 AM ^
Joyce is one of the best umpires in the MLB. I never viewed him a villan. I remember I was studying that night and I missed the game until the 9th inning. He was a man about it and owned up to it.
August 22nd, 2012 at 2:52 AM ^
There was only one villain: Bud Selig. He could have made it right, but chose not to. He went from "tool of the owners" to just plain, old, "tool" in my eyes.
August 22nd, 2012 at 8:18 AM ^
Tater, you are right on. Any ref/ump can miss a call once in awhile. But seeing the replay, Bud Selig could have made it right with the wave of a hand.
Cool story, hope the lady comes out of this fine.
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:41 AM ^
I don't know. What do you do about the 28th at bat? Do you pretend like that AB never happened and remove it from everyones stats? The downside about sports is that once the call is made on the field it is hard to go back and change results.
August 22nd, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
What if the MLB had a system in place to correct erroenous calls when they happened?
August 22nd, 2012 at 2:33 PM ^
Those aren't perfect either, see Fitz's touchdown vs OSU. It seems like they could implement some sort of review system without ruining the integrity of the game. Personally I'm against a review on balls/strikes but very much for reviews of plays at the plate and other bases.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:06 AM ^
What the story doesn't say is that she actually woke up while he was performing CPR and then promptly fainted again after seeing the awesomeness of his moustache up close.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:09 AM ^
Joyce really has shown to be a class act. Great story.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:12 AM ^
Man this guy has been through alot in the last couple years but in tough times you get to see a persons true character. He has shown he has sincerity and true emotion. As much as i didnt care for him after the blown call, he has shown he is a great person. Nice work Jim
August 22nd, 2012 at 8:37 AM ^
It gets even better when you pair "This guy has been through alot" with the facial expression on that alot.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:30 AM ^
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:35 AM ^
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:37 AM ^
He owned up to his mistake almost immediately after the game, and kudos to him for letting the players and coaches vent in front of him for a few moments after the game was over. He and Armando both handled that situation tremendously and I have nothing but respect for both. Jim Joyce truly seems like a great person.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:38 AM ^
Great story, Joyce tooks his lumps for the blown call and he owned up to it from the beginning. That showed alot of class, but this puts him in the category of TREMENDOUS.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:44 AM ^
But I will never forgive Joyce for robbing me of seeing a perfect game live. He seems like a classy guy and all...but i dont like him
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:57 AM ^
Guy missed an insanely easy call that Hellen Keller could have made. May be a great guy but he robbed Tigers fans of seeing something that is a rarity in the game of baseball.
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:14 AM ^
There've been 23 perfect games in baseball history, and quite a few of them recently. You got to watch an event more famous and historical than most of those perfect games. Quit whining.
August 22nd, 2012 at 6:36 AM ^
Before you feel terrible for Galarraga, keep in mind that he signed a a 2.3 million dollar contract out of that game (which is way more than he was worth, considering he is already in the minor league). He also got a free car out of it.
That's like taking a bad beat to some dumb poker player in vegas and getting the first place payout as consolation
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:08 AM ^
Actually they are nothing alike, I'm not saying Jim is a bad guy, but it is nothing like poker. Galarraga had a chance to throw a perfect game in the big leagues, he had a chance to go down in the history books, I think it probably meant a lot more to him than the car, and he would have gotten the contract if the call was correct and he had gotten the perfect game he deserved.
This does not mean I do not like Joyce or think that he is bad guy, but the fact remains that Galarrage got screwed out of a perfect game that he earned.
August 22nd, 2012 at 7:15 AM ^
August 22nd, 2012 at 8:39 AM ^
I gave the guy his due.. I don't have to like him. There are plenty of people who look at Tressel and Paterno as heroes for things they did outside of sports, I still hate them both. Lastly, who the F are you to tell me how to feel?
August 22nd, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
Umm... heroes? Where have you been for the last two years?
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:12 AM ^
August 22nd, 2012 at 1:22 AM ^
After that blown call, a lot of people stood up for Jim Joyce and talked about what a great umpire and even better man he is... this goes to show that they were right.
BTW.. if you look at the Gallaraga footage, he did jugle the ball once after his foot touched the base and the ball ended up just sitting on the top of his mitt, sticking halfway out. Now this is not why Joyce blew the call, but it is possible that the batter could have been called safe by another umpire simply because Gallaraga juggled it a bit.... though his foot hit the bag first.
August 22nd, 2012 at 3:02 AM ^
but I thought this thread was about My Morning Jacket.
August 22nd, 2012 at 5:52 AM ^
I found it interesting as well that, after all this, he still worked home plate despite being offered third by his crewmates, which rather makes him a little bit more of a "hero" to me. After helping to save someone's life, he desired no special treatment.
Like others, I applaud him for owning up to his mistake after the locally infamous "near perfect game", and I definitely give him a standing ovation for lending a hand in saving a life. Kudos, major kudos, Mr. Joyce.
August 22nd, 2012 at 8:32 AM ^
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:00 AM ^
Thanks for sharing. And please, everyone, learn CPR! Never know when you can be a hero too.
August 22nd, 2012 at 9:15 AM ^
The other thing to consider is that Gallaraga will be far more memorable and relevant than if he actually threw the perfect game. Especially when you consider the run of them the last few years. There's been over 5 and I can probably name Hernandez and Beurle.
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:02 PM ^
August 22nd, 2012 at 10:12 AM ^
Anyone see that triple play last night? Good stuff.
August 22nd, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^
I was at the game.
That is all.
August 22nd, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^
I figured this was going to be about Finnegans Wake or Ullyses.
/My Kvetchiness
August 22nd, 2012 at 3:10 PM ^
Interesting. The article said he remembered CPR from high school, but Jim must have taken a refresher course in CPR recently--singing "Staying Alive" to yourself and doing compressions with the beat is the new idea the American Heart Association has come up with to help people do compressions fast enough (100 beats/minute ideally). They just started teaching this schtick within the last few years.
I'd echo the above sentiment--everyone should learn basic CPR. You never know when having this simple knowledge could help save a life.