What Were You Thinking, Jim Joyce?

This is a couple days old, but it's perhaps the biggest WWYT since the Beantown Buzz came up with the idea last winter.  If you're reading this, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  On Wednesday night, the Tigers' Armando Gallaraga was one freakin' out away from the third perfect game in under a month, and fourth in under a year.  That's certifiably insane, seeing as there had only been 18 ever in baseball history coming into the year.  Alongside seeing a guy hit four homers in a game, it's one of the rarest things to happen in the great game of baseball.  27 up, 27 down.  Perfection.  And this poor guy had one more batter to get through. He induced a grounder to the first baseman Miguel Cabrera, and he and Gallaraga made the play that is practiced league-wide on the first day of Spring Training every February.  The play was made, the runner was out, and stunningly, perfection happened again.

See? The guy's out.  Like, clearly.  By a good half-step or so.  Not by a few strides, but pretty clear-cut.  

But not to Jim Joyce.  

Apparently, he's a well-respected umpire, well-liked and good enough at the job to have worked several World Series and an All-Star game or two.  Well, he won't be getting those assignments anymore.  

This is perhaps the worst call I've ever seen in any sport, ever.  To me, if a guy's pitched that well, and it's clear he's having a special night, and it's the last out of the goddamn game, you give him the benefit of the doubt and call the guy out.  You're almost obligated to, in my opinion.  Joyce had to have know - had to have - that perfection was on the line, and I honestly believe him when he tearfully said afterward that he truly thought the guy was safe - but he was the only one in the stadium, and the country, who thought so.  Human error is part of the game, for better and for worse, but this was just egregious.  

Ironically, Gallaraga will probably be remembered more in posterity for his near-perfecto and the controversy it stirred up than Dallas Braden or Roy Halladay will be for pitching their perfect games.  

Big-time what were you thinking goes out to Jim Joyce tonight