Every year, I look forward to July, not for fireworks, but for the ESPY awards. The Golden Globes of sports recaps the year with drama, comedy, shock and inspiration. It reminds us why we love sports in the first place. It makes us appreciate what a team has accomplished, not only for themselves, not only for their owners, not only for their city, but for an entire world.
The three moments that stood out to me tonight dealt with the unfortunate circumstance between former Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga and umpire Jim Joyce, the Thomas family forgiving the Becker family, and of course the Jimmy V award.
For those of you who don't know, Armando Galarraga was throwing a perfect game with only one batter left. He forced a groundball and covered the bag just like a pitcher is supposed to. It was a close call, but when you saw it live, you knew he was safe. Instant replay confirmed the 27th out. However, Jim Joyce called it like he saw, just how he always has; safe.
Everyone, including Joyce, after he watched a replay, knew he was out. Later on, before leaving the ballpark, Joyce went up to Galarraga to personally apologize. Galarraga, who would have gone down in the record books, humbly accepted the apology.
Joyce later said I took a perfect game away form that kid and there is nothing I can do.
The next day, Joyce was at homeplate where he accepted the lineup cards from each team. I bet you would never guess who would bring out the card for the Tigers. Armando Galarraga came out of the dugout and the first thing he did was pat Joyce on the back. They then had a hearty handshake, the kind of shake that men have.
These are the kinds of heroes that youngsters should look up. Not because of their talents or fame, but for their character, sportsmanship and respect they showed for one another. Imagine doing something in your profession that only a couple dozen people have done, ever. Imagine having that feeling of greatness and accomplishment tingle throughout your body and all of a sudden; gone. That's what went through the mind of Galarraga. Yet, he was able to put all that aside, the fame, the history, the glory, and forgive the man that took it all away. That is the hero we should all look up to.
What about Joyce? To be able to live up to your mistake and announce it before the entire nation, takes a lot of guts. How many of you out there have ever made a mistake at work? I am willing to bet 99.9 percent of you say you have. When umpires make mistakes, they get yelled at by thousands of screaming fans. But that wasn't enough for Joyce. He was criticized and put in the spotlight for the weeks to come in newspapers across the country. We are all human. But the people who live up their mistakes, realize what they have done and accept the outcome are the truest humans of them all. Joyce, just like Galarraga, is the kind of hero we should look up to.
Later on, I will write about my other two moments from tonight.
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