I was raised on baseball and while I freely admit that I no longer have the time to watch as many Major League games as I would like, there are two things that I will still, no matter what, pay close attention to - I love triples and I love perfect games! They are sacred and should be lauded and hailed by all - die hard and casual fans alike.I have never really been a fan of Bud Selig as the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. In fairness though, is anyone really a fan of the commissioner of their favorite sport or is he just a figure head you only pay attention to during the draft or a scandal?
Bud Selig was named Commissioner after holding the interim position from 1992-1998. Shouldn't this have been the first clue for fans that this might not really be the man for job? I mean really, a six year interim period?There wasn't a point in year two or year three that the owners said, "Hey why don't we give the job to Bud?" Obviously someone (or several someones) thought that he wasn't the best fit for major league baseball.
During his tenure (including as interim commish), Selig has been accused of collusion regarding former Commissioner Fay Vincent's resignation, racketeering and conspiracy to defraud owners, exceeding his authority when it comes to suspensions, not attending the home-run record breaking game of Barry Bonds and extending the World Series into November in order to help with ratings.
This is not to say that there haven't been some good things to come to the sport since Mr. Selig has been at the helm. He orchestrated realignment of the teams which facilitated the addition of the Wild Card. He oversaw the introduction of two new teams (the Devil Rays and the Diamondbacks) as well as the international move and change of the Expos in Montreal to Washington, D.C. becoming the Nationals. At least 19 new stadiums have opened during Selig's tenure which is a testament to his overseeing an over 400% increase in revenue.
But Mr. Selig is now forced with, what I predict, will be his most difficult decision to date (yes, even more important than the Pete Rose situation). On June 2, 2010, Armando Galarraga of the Detroit Tigers was one out away from pitching the first complete game and first shutout of his career. That was not all though, Galarraga was also one out away from pitching a perfect game. Until, THE CALL. Umpire Jim Joyce called a very obviously (to television viewers and fans in the stands) out Jason Donald of the Cleveland Indians safe a first base.
Without rehashing the call and its aftermath ad nauseum, I clearly acknowledge the extreme graciousness and ultimate sportsmanship of both Galarraga and Joyce. Both men are the epitome of what I wish that all sports figures in today's world could be. An umpire who loves the game of baseball so much that he feels exceedingly horrible for what in his words "just cost that kid a perfect game." A player who in the midst of the hullabaloo that was surrounding his missed opportunity, delivered the lineup for the next day's game to the offending umpire who was still on the umpiring team even when given the opportunity to leave and avoid any uncomfortableness. Pure class.
That class is juxtaposed against Bud Selig who has the power to right this wrong. This isn't some missed call in the middle of the game. This is a blatantly missed call on what should have been the last out in the game. Some would say that the commissioner should not change the outcome of a completed game, that its opening a slippery slope. I politely and completely disagree. If there was ever a time that an overturning of a call was necessary, it is now.
Sports is an outlet for the average American to escape into for a few hours. In this day and age, Americans need healthy diversions as much as possible. These Americans are tired of seeing arbitrary bureaucrats making decisions for them without fully thinking through the consequences of their actions.
My three-year old daughter is easily frustrated when working on a new task as are most three-year olds but my husband and I have taught her that rather than say, "I can't do it" that she say, "I CAN do it." She even now repeats that mantra to her five-year old sister when she gets frustrated. If there was no instance of instant replay in Major League Baseball, I would probably not be as angry or maybe if there wasn't a provision allowing for a commissioner to step in and over-rule this call, then I probably wouldn't be complaining. Bud Selig, you Sir, have the opportunity to show your cherished fans, as well as the rest of the United States of America, that you can right that wrong, that you can fix what was done incorrectly the first time. You can do it.
Using baseball as a microcosm of life, it is impossible to go back in time and "right a wrong", as it should be. Instead, the wronged and those who wrong them learn from their mistakes and misfortunes (hopefully) and use them as character builders. To magically grant the pitcher an out that he didn't get, even if the call was blown, is to take away a base hit from the batter, whose average would be adversely effected. Also, it sends the wrong message to young fans and players of the game. There is no crying in baseball.
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