There's only one thing that Major League Baseball can do today to make amends for last night's blown call that cost Tigers' pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game: reverse the call.
Already a hot topic in our office this morning, and one that colleague Drew Olson disagrees with, I say Commissioner Bud Selig can make this right. It's unconventional, but it's the right thing to do.
Yes, there are no instant replays for calls at first base. But there are also no ties in baseball, and the Commish declared one here in Milwaukee in 2002. He can do exactly what he wants to do.
Tenured umpire Jim Joyce knew he blew the call, and he tearfully apologized to Galarraga, who graciously accepted. Some think he bobbled the ball a bit as the Indians' Jason Donald touched first base. He didn't.
I've always said that overall, Selig has been a good commissioner, but his PR skills are stuck somewhere in the '70s. Whenever he must make a tough decision, he never appears confident, wringing his hands and inviting critics to call him an owners' pawn. I think he actually said that ending the All-Star Game in a tie was the hardest decision he ever made in his life. Really?
Following the rules to the letter, not the spirit of the law, is why Barry Bonds, and before him, Mark McGwire, hit more home runs in a single season than the drug-free Roger Maris. Everyone knew they were juiced, but since steroids weren't exactly illegal at the time, Selig says he can't undo those records -- or even put an asterisk next to them.
But a decision to give a Gallaraga a piece of history that he earned doesn't even change the result of the game. Amazingly composed, he retired the next batter and beat the Indians, 3-0. He faced 28 batters, but he should have faced the minimum. Simply declaring it a no-hitter isn't enough.
This is the age of social media, Twitter, SportsCenter and Web sites like firejimjoyce.com. It's time for Selig to embrace baseball and its fans like it's 2010, and to make this right.
Reverse the call, Mr. Commissioner.
Say the word and it's done.
Even baseball purists will thank you in the end, even if they don't admit it at first. You have absolute power in this respect. Please use it today.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
