Armando Galarraga

Armando Galarraga
Pitcher
Born: January 15, 1982 Cumaná Venezuela
Strikes: Right	Throws: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
September 15,  2007  with the  Texas Rangers
Last MLB assignment
August 19,  2012  at the Houston Astros
MLB statistics (until the end of the 2012 season)
Win-loss record	26-34
Earned Run Average	4.78
Strikeouts	346
Teams
Texas Rangers (2007) Detroit Tigers (2008-2010) Arizona Diamondbacks (2011) Houston Astros (2012)

Armando Antonio Galarraga (born January 15, 1982 in Cumaná , Venezuela ) is a former baseball player from Venezuela in Major League Baseball . Most recently he played as a pitcher for the Houston Astros in the National League .

Galarraga became known in the USA for a fast- perfect game : due to an error later admitted by referee Jim Joyce when assessing a game situation, Galarraga is not officially rated as the 21st player with a perfect game.

Career

Galarraga began his career in the Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals ) franchise system . He moved to Texas Rangers in 2005 and made his first three games in the MLB there at the end of the 2007 season. Before the 2008 season he was given to the Detroit Tigers and was able to contest a successful season there with 13 wins, seven losses and an ERA of 3.73. His next career step was the appointment for the season opening game ( Opening Day ) 2009, but this season was much worse for him. He only had six wins and ten losses in 29 starts, his ERA deteriorated to 5.64. After a Spring Training 2010 that went badly for him , he lost his place in the starting rotation and had to switch to the Toledo Mudhens (AAA) farm team in the Tigers' system . It was not until May 2010 that he was reappointed to the MLB team.

The almost perfect game

The wrong decision

In the encounter against the Cleveland Indians on June 2, 2010, Galarraga managed the extremely rare performance that the opponent's first 26 (of 27) batters did not reach first base. Cleveland's Jason Donald as the 27th batter then hit a ground ball to first baseman Miguel Cabrera , who threw it to Galarraga, who covered first base. The call , the umpire's decision, was " Safe " in favor of the battery, although the Tigers' defense had made the player "off", as the video recorded.

When the umpire Jim Joyce was confronted with the question of his decision after the game, he replied that he had misjudged the situation and that the game should have ended as the perfect game.

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the shit out of it. I just cost that kid a perfect game. "

“That was the most important call of my career and I totally missed it. I cost this boy a perfect game. "

- Jim Joyce, umpire

As a result, the performance of Galarraga as will one hit - shutout performed because after the official and valid votes in the penultimate at-bats a hit succeeded.

The subsequent development

The controversial first base of the near perfect game is on display in the Baseball Hall of Fame .

Joyce publicly admitted his wrong decision shortly after the game and apologized to Galarraga. At the game the following day, Joyce was a plate umpire. Instead of the manager, Galarraga brought the line-up card . Joyce took the card in tears, they shook hands and Galarraga went to the dugout after a pat on the shoulder from Joyce, visibly touched . Both received recognition from all sides for their exemplary athletic attitude . Before the game, Galarraga was given a red Chevrolet Corvette not only for the missing perfect game, but above all for his attitude towards the umpire and his impeccable handling of the situation. The first base on which the wrong decision took place is on display in the Baseball Hall of Fame .

Web links

• Player information and statistics MLB  or  ESPN  , or  Baseball-Reference  or  FanGraphs (English)

proof

1. ↑ Anthony DiComo: Tigers option Galarraga to Triple-A ( English ) MLB Advanced Media, LP. March 18, 2010. Archived from the original on March 19, 2010.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Todd Kaufmann: Ken Griffey Jr's Retirement Gets Trumped by Jim Joyce, Armando Galarraga ( English ) Bleacher Report . June 3, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Houston Mitchell: A tearful Jim Joyce takes lineup card from Armando Galarraga ( English ) Los Angeles Times . June 3, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
4. ↑ Larry Lage, The Associated Press : Jim Joyce: `` I just cost that kid a perfect game '' ( English ) boston.com. June 3, 2010. Retrieved August 19, 2020.