Grace Under Pressure

One bad call can take something from you that you never get back and the real test is what you do next. Today I tell a classic MLB story from 2010, when Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from a perfect game and a safe call at first base ended it. Replay later proved the runner was out, but what happened after the play is why this moment still matters.

I walk through how Galarraga chose composure instead of a meltdown, and how veteran umpire Jim Joyce did something rare: he watched the replay, admitted “I blew it,” and personally sought out Galarraga to apologize. Their exchange becomes a short, powerful picture of humility, grace, and what accountability can look like when pride would be easier.

Our friends, family, and coworkers are always watching how we handle injustice, disappointment, and being wronged. If you need a five-minute reset on forgiveness, patience, and finding peace fast, this one is for you.

Transcript

Welcome And Daily Five-Minute Start

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Good morning and welcome to Starting Right with Danny Mack. I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great five-minute start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and let me help you start your day right.

The Near Perfect Game Setup

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The 2024 baseball season just got underway this past week, and I have a really good baseball story for you today. This one took place back in 2010 in a game between the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Indians. The pitcher for Detroit was Armando Galaraga, and he had pitched almost a perfect game. In fact, if he were able to get one more man out, it would be officially called a perfect game. In baseball terms, a perfect game means that one pitcher was able to complete the game without anybody from the other team ever being able to get on base. And if Gallaraga could get this last man out, it would be only the twenty first time it had ever happened in all of Major League Baseball. In fact, even today, it has only happened a total of twenty three times. The batter for Cleveland was their shortstop, Jason Donald. With a count at one and one and the crowd of seventeen thousand fans in attendance at Camerica Part on their feet cheering, Donald hit a ground ball to the right side hole. First baseman Cabrera backhanded the ball, then turned and threw it to Galaraga, who had raced over to cover first base. Everybody in the park believed that the throw had beaten the runner.

The Bad Call And Better Response

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Except longtime veteran umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Donald safe on the play. And although Galaraga was certain his perfect game had just been robbed, even with the base runner looking a bit distraught by the call, the Tigers pitcher did not have the expected classic baseball meltdown. Instead he gracefully smiled and walked away as the booze echoed at Camerica Park. Video evidence later confirmed very clearly that the base runner was actually out, and Gallaraga had indeed been robbed of a perfect game. It's really not that play or the call that is mostly remembered. What people remember the most is how Armando Galaraga and the Umpire, Jim Joyce, handled this situation. After the game the Umpire, a veteran of twenty two years in Major League Baseball, watched the replay and realized that he'd blown the call. He was interviewed in the Umpire's locker room after he had watched the replay. He said it was the biggest call of my career and I blew it. I just cost that kid a perfect game. The umpire sought out Gallaraga and apologized that very night. Galaraga said after the meeting, I think he feels more bad than me. Nobody's perfect. Everybody's human, I understand that. I give the guy a lot of credit for saying I need to talk to you. You don't see an umpire tell you that after a game. Gallaraga said, I gave him a hug. He needed it. Pitching a perfect game would have guaranteed Galaraga a prominent place in the history books of Major League Baseball. But because of this call by the Umpire, he lost out on that. But he had no ill feelings toward the umpire. And the umpire, being the kind of upstanding guy that he was, admitted his mistake, sought out Galaraga to apologize to him.

Romans 14 And Stopping Condemnation

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Romans chapter fourteen, verse thirteen says stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. Our reactions every day are witnessed by our friends and family and co-workers around us. They all see how we handle the injustices that are done to us and around us. It is very easy for us to want to lash back at people who've wronged us, who've done something to harm us. And yet God has told us to stop it. We are to stop condemning and attacking each other. We are to live in harmony and peace and to build one another up by the grace and power of God. When we hear a story like this, it often gives us pause to think about how we react to the people around us who may say or do unjust things to us.

Forgive, Move On, Find Peace

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Many people if they feel slighted or put down or they missed out on something because of someone else, they get really uptight about it, and the natural reaction is to lash back at those who've hurt us. And yet God's desire for us is to show love and patience in all those situations. Most of the time the best response to being wronged is to forgive. Forgive and move on. It allows everybody to find peace. I hope we can learn the lesson from baseball today. I hope you have a great day, my friends. We'll talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today. And I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mack.