Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game
In a Major League Baseball game played on June 2, 2010, at Detroit's Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga nearly became the 21st pitcher in Major League Baseball history to throw a perfect game. Facing the Cleveland Indians, Galarraga retired the first 26 batters he faced. His bid for a perfect game was ruined one out short when first-base umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly ruled that Indians batter Jason Donald reached first base safely on a ground ball. Galarraga instead finished with a one-hit shutout in a 3–0 victory. He faced 28 batters and threw 88 pitches (67 strikes and 21 balls), striking out three. The game is sometimes referred to as the "28-out perfect game", the "Almost Perfect" game, the "Extra Perfect Game", the "Imperfect Game" or simply the "Galarraga game."
Galarraga pitching for the Detroit Tigers in 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | June 2, 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Comerica Park | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attendance | 17,738 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | Fox Sports Detroit | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Mario Impemba (play-by-play) Rod Allen (color commentary) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | WXYT-FM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Dan Dickerson (play-by-play) Jim Price (color commentary) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Joyce was tearful and apologetic upon meeting with Galarraga after the game after realizing that he had made an incorrect call. Galarraga was forgiving and understanding of the mistake, telling reporters after the game, "Nobody's perfect". Many others throughout Major League Baseball subsequently voiced their support for Joyce. The sportsmanship demonstrated by Galarraga and Joyce earned them widespread praise for their handling of the incident.