If you follow baseball the way we do in our house... then you have probably heard by now that although Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game last night against the Indians... an umpire's mistake, in the bottom of the 9th, would mean that, technically, he didn't.
What Galarraga demonstrated, then, was nothing short of inspirational... A character overflowing with the utmost humility and grace, in the face of crushing disappointment.
He could have thrown a fit. He could have whined and complained that it wasn't fair. But he didn't. He simply smiled... went back to the mound... and faced the final batter of the game.
And after the game... even after he watched the replay again and again... and he knew the call had been wrong... he chose to forgive the umpire, and move beyond himself to praise his team.
A perfect game... Do you know how rare that is? It should have been Galarraga's. My husband was sick about it. My 10-year old son shared in his father's disbelief. Armando Galarraga seems like a gracious and honorable guy. So, you might wonder... Why should this kind of thing happen to him?? Good people deserve to be rewarded, right??
I think, in the long run, he will be. But for today, maybe this was a perfect way to show a 10-year old kid how to be gracious in defeat. Maybe we all need a refresher from time to time. Thank you, Armando Galarraga... Perfectly done.
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