Armando Galarraga was a fringe starter in 2010, bouncing between Triple-A and the Tigers’ rotation while Detroit shuffled arms like Max Scherzer, Dontrelle Willis, and Brad Thomas. By the time of his fourth outing that season, Galarraga was battling for the fifth rotation spot, with solid but inconsistent results. Then came June 2, the night everything changed.
Galarraga cruised through eight perfect innings, throwing sharp pitches and getting help from his defense. The biggest came on the first batter of the ninth, when Austin Jackson made an incredible over-the-shoulder catch in center to preserve the perfect game. With two outs and the crowd on its feet, Jason Donald hit a grounder to first. Miguel Cabrera ranged over, threw to Galarraga covering, and the play looked routine. But first base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe. The entire stadium was stunned. Replays confirmed the out. Galarraga wore a stunned smile. Cabrera erupted. Manager Jim Leyland held back until seeing the replay, then stormed at Joyce.
Joyce stood by the call, but acknowledged his mistake after the game. Galarraga, for his part, got the next out and completed a one-hit shutout. The missed call remains one of the biggest blown umpire decisions in baseball history. Galarraga has since called for the result to be fixed in the record books to reflect what it was: a perfect game. It’s hard to argue he didn’t earn it.