A Blown Call and Real Forgiveness

On Wednesday, June 3rd, umpire Jim Joyce blew a call late in the 9th inning and cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Gallaraga a perfect game.

For you non-baseball fans out there, that’s a really big deal. Like, there have only been 20 perfect games in the 100+ years of Major League Baseball’s history. It’s something a pitcher dreams of his whole life.

The play was not a close one. It was just a bad call. Human error. A biff.

And because MLB doesn’t use instant replay, the word of the umpire stands. Period. The manager can kick up dirt, the fans can scream their heads off and the players can spit their tobacco juice on his shoes, but there is no reversing the call.

But what was amazing about this particular blown call was what happened in the aftermath.

Gallaraga handled it like a true gentleman. No cursing, no complaining. Just a real, honest display of disappointment and forgiveness. In fact the next day’s game (after a tearful televised apology by Joyce), when someone had to run out the score card to the umpire to start the game, it was Gallaraga who handled the task for the Tigers. We’ll never know what was said, but when Gallaraga clapped his hand on Joyce’s shoulder it was obvious he had forgiven him.

He handled the whole thing with such class and aplomb that Chevy surprised the gracious pitcher with a brand new Corvette!! Seriously.

So this whole thing has been making me think.  Recently in my life, someone made a bad call. A clearly obvious and extremely bad call. And it’s really affected me.  It’s kinda been blowing my mind that as I struggle with anger and forgiveness that in addition to the many examples set for me in God’s word, I’ve got a pretty good example to follow right here in the world of baseball.

How about you?  How do you react when someone else’s mistake costs you something?  You reach for your six-guns or are you quick to forgive?