Jim Joyce had toiled in relative anonymity for over a couple of decades as a Major League Baseball umpire. No more. Joyce made a "safe" call at first base on a ground ball hit by Cleveland's Jason Donald in the top of the ninth inning with two outs and Cleveland trailing Detroit, 3-0, at Comerica Park.
The ruling effectively put a screeching halt to a perfect game being tossed by Detroit's Armando Galarraga, which would have been the third of the season and only the 21st in history. In short, it was a blown call, and was so obvious to Joyce that he tearfully went to apologize to Galarraga after the game. That was definitely a stand-up move by the ump, even if it was too little, too late barring a possible overrule on the call by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig that is being contemplated.
But as much as a standing ovation goes to Galarraga for his first-class temperament and attitude after the game (can we say early leader for Sportsman of the Year?), kudos also go to the crowd at Detroit's Comerica Park.
According to Michael Healy, vice president of park operations, his crew was preparing for a post-game celebration and had already begun securing the field. Dialogue had even turned to rushing the umpires off the field following the final celebratory out, one that never came.
Healy says that despite some booing (understandable), everyone was "still in shock, so that minimized some of the potential actions that we could have encountered."
Those actions, says Healy, could have included fans storming the field, throwing objects and other acts destined to get a patron ejected from the stadium. But when the next batter was retired, Healy said that there we no issues after the game.
Of course, security was placed at the door of the umpires' locker room and once they dressed to leave they were all escorted to their vehicles. For Joyce, the escort went all the way to the interstate, an escort that might still be going on at this writing.