Armando Galarraga Deserves Perfect Game Despite Blown Call, White House Says

By: Mark Knoller
Topics: In The News ,; Obama Administration

Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga throws against the Cleveland Indians in the first inning of a baseball game in Detroit, June 2, 2010.

(Credit: AP)

In response to a question from a reporter today, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he hopes Major League Baseball awards a perfect game to Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga.

With two outs in the ninth inning, Umpire Jim Joyce called Cleveland's Jason Donald safe at first base on a ground ball. Replays clearly showed that Donald was out and that Galarraga thus should have had a perfect game - an extremely rare achievement resulting from not allowing any of a team's opposing batters to reach base.

A distraught Joyce later apologized for the call.

With tongue in cheek, Gibbs said he was speaking with the "full weight of the federal government" in making his appeal for the perfect game.

In any case, he said the umpire's admission of a mistake and the pitcher's calm response was a "tremendously heartening" show of sportsmanship that is a good lesson for baseball and for Washington.

Gibbs said he had not discussed the baseball episode with the president.

In making the comments, Gibbs noted that his 6-year old son Ethan is a baseball player. Gibbs lamented that he missed his son's game yesterday.

During Gibbs' press briefing, news came out that Major League Baseball league would not reserve the call, according to Associated Press and CBS News sources. However, commissioner Bud Selig did say that the league will review video replay procedures.

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Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/markknoller.

Mark Knoller
Mark Knoller is a CBS News White House correspondent.
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by inthenewsquiz June 5, 2010 8:23 AM EDT: Armando Galarraga got robbed of a perfect game and made James Joyce infamous. Check out the trivia behind controversial calls in sports at http://www.inthenewsquiz.com/2010/06/trivia-behind-controversial-calls-in.html; Reply to this comment


by Empire-George- June 4, 2010 10:16 AM EDT: I'd like to know, why a umpire call, in Professional Baseball is of any concern to the President or his staff.

What's next, Secretary of Sports, so when a tournament comes along, NCAA, World-cup, etc....they can fill out brackets, pick winners, and comment on what THEY thought a call should be or not be.....they are President after all....the B-ball Prez; Reply to this comment


by buildfences June 4, 2010 8:00 AM EDT: Hey! Forget baseball, where are the jobs?; Reply to this comment


by sunday42 June 3, 2010 11:18 PM EDT: I agree a blown call should not keep this guy from getting his perfect game after all the folks that hand out the Nobel Peace prize blew the call and Obama got the prize.; Reply to this comment