Armando Galarraga

Armando Antonio Galarraga Barreto (born January 15, 1982) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. Galarraga made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Texas Rangers on September 15, 2007. He was traded to the Detroit Tigers at the end of the 2007 season and also played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros.

On June 2, 2010, while playing for the Tigers, he was deprived of a perfect game by an incorrect call made by first-base umpire Jim Joyce in the top of the ninth inning with two outs.

Playing career

Texas Rangers

He originally signed as a free agent with the Montreal Expos on October 31, 1998. He was acquired by the Texas Rangers from the Washington Nationals as part of the deal that sent Alfonso Soriano to the Nationals in 2005.

Galarraga made his Major League debut on September 15, 2007 against the Oakland Athletics. He entered the game in the eighth inning, and pitched a scoreless inning. He allowed no hits and one base on balls.

Jim Joyce

James Alfred "Jim" Joyce III (born October 3, 1955) is an American professional baseball umpire. He has worked in the American League (AL) from 1987 to 1999 and throughout Major League Baseball (MLB) since 2000. He wears uniform number 66 (he wore uniform number 6 while in the AL). His strike call is extremely loud and enthusiastic, similar to that of retired umpire Bruce Froemming.

He became infamous for Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game in June 2010. Prior to this, an ESPN The Magazine poll of MLB players called Joyce the best umpire in the game. He also called an obstruction rule in the bottom of the ninth in Game 3 of the 2013 World Series that helped the St. Louis Cardinals to a win over the Boston Red Sox. In 2012, Joyce was promoted to interim crew chief replacing injured umpire John Hirschbeck. His crew consisted of Jim Reynolds, Mike DiMuro, and James Hoye. Joyce was promoted to regular crew chief prior to the 2013 season.

Early life

Joyce was born in Toledo, Ohio on October 3, 1955. He grew up in Toledo where he graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1973. He grew up a die-hard New York Yankees fan, despite the Detroit Tigers being less than one hour away and the Cleveland Indians being less than two hours away. He then attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where he played baseball. In 1977, he graduated from Bowling Green with bachelor of science degree in education.