Did Armando Galarraga throw a perfect game or not on June 2? At first glance it might seem that he did and that umpire Jim Joyce’s botched call should not thwart Galarraga’s achievement. The pitcher had single-handedly accomplished a great feat in baseball and should not be penalized because a bystander made an error.
But what makes a perfect game? We tend to think of perfect games as the hard work of pitchers alone, but in reality everybody on the team (and, as we discovered recently, everybody on the umpire staff) has to play perfectly. The best pitcher will get nowhere if the catcher bobbles the ball even once. At the very least, a perfect game requires not only a great pitcher but also a catcher who can work well with him.
But a perfect game has never been just about an excellent pitcher and catcher. In theory, one could meet the requirement of a perfect game—27 batters up, 27 down—by striking out all of them, but that feat has never been done. The greatest number of strikeouts in a nine-inning major league game is 20, and that number has never been reached during a perfect game. In fact, from the statistics I was able to consult, I did not see any pitcher of a perfect game who struck out as many as 18 batters. Thus, more than a third of the batters in each perfect game were put out by the fielders. One outfielder who loses the ball in the sun or collides with a teammate is enough to ruin a perfect game. The pitcher may get the honor for a perfect game, but it is really a team effort.
This is something that bears repeating in our highly individualistic society, which tends to praise one individual (usually the CEO or other most visible individual) rather than to recognize others who contributed to the success. A CEO may have a wonderful vision for a company, but it can be undone by a grumpy receptionist, an embezzling CFO, an insensitive marketing department, or workers careless about environmental or safety concerns. Top executives may pride themselves on their ability to get other people in the company to work hard and honestly, but in truth their workers usually already come with those values, much as outfielders are not taught their skills by the pitchers on their team. Great companies usually have people in all areas of the operation who bring exceptional enthusiasm, diligence, and attentiveness to detail. Most of these workers may not even be recognized by management, but the company would not survive without them.
I am forced, therefore, to conclude that Galarraga did not pitch a perfect game, since a perfect game is always about more than just the pitcher, even if the pitcher is the one who gets the credit. Perhaps, though, we can use his “failure” to consider how much we need each other in order to accomplish our goals.
© 2010 James A. Kellerman
