Tigers' Galarraga Gets Corvette and a Ton of Respect

I'll be honest. I would have thrown a temper tantrum had I been Armando Galarraga last night when Jim Joyce made a fatal call blowing Galarraga's magical night. As a baseball pitcher, a perfect game is the pinnacle of individual achievement. It's one of sports rare masterpieces that was pretty much stolen from him.

Galarraga though is the epitome of sportsmanship. As soon as the wrong call was made Galarraga just gave a surprising look and let the fans and his manager unleash their disapproval. His comments to the media have been a class act and as the image here shows, he made a move to put this error behind him (and Jim Joyce) for good by taking out the lineup card as Joyce was the home plate umpire for this next game.

Joyce has been openly regretful for his mistake and even expressed public tears when Galarraga brought him the lineup card.

Galaragga has just given him what Joyce so needed - public forgiveness. Baseball should learn from this incident and I'm not just referring to the obvious need for instant replay. Baseball as a whole, the fans and players included, can see that athletes can be decent human beings. They don't have to throw tantrums. They don't have to be narcissists.

They can be true examples of sportsmanship. Or at least Armando Galarraga can.