Baseball’s Galarraga: A Touch of Class and Example of Grace

Dana Wakiji writes for FOX Sports Detroit

Charles Barkley once famously said that he was not a role model.

Armando Galarraga would probably just flash his now-famous smile if he heard Barkley say that.

Because of what has happened in the last 18 hours, the Domincan-born Galarraga has now transcended the sport of baseball. He’s an example to everyone, including his manager.

“Galarraga was probably calmer than everyone, really, even last night,” Jim Leyland said.

By now everyone has seen the replay many times. With two outs in the ninth Wednesday, Miguel Cabrera fielded Jason Donald’s grounder. Galarraga covered first and beat Donald to the bag, but first base umpire Jim Joyce called him safe.

Joyce later saw the replay himself and felt horrible. Galarraga never yelled at Joyce on the field, as Leyland and other Tigers did. He just smiled wryly and finished the game, even acknowledging the crowd as he left the field.

Even after the game, he wasn’t mad, didn’t throw things or punch any walls.

“I believe a lot of people, most of the guys, they’d do the same as I do,” the modest pitcher said. “It’s something that happened. It’s the game. It’s part of the game.

“When you go and think about it better, when you take a shower or go in your bed and go to sleep and think about it, you know nobody’s perfect. I’m happy with the guy.”

Chevrolet and the Tigers were so happy with Galarraga that they presented him with a shiny, red Corvette before the game.

“That was crazy,” Galarraga said. “I still don’t’ believe it. I was in shock. I did not expect that at all. Just walk in and see the crowd give you some love. I’m just happy. I had a good time. I see the car and they tell me it’s going to be yours. I was like, Oh, my God. I don’t even have the words.”

Galarraga’s teammates were as surprised as he was but happy for him.

“I think the car for Galarraga, if there was ever an award that was very deserved, it was that one right there,” Brandon Inge said. “It was a good sportsmanship award right there.”

Gerald Laird, who said he apologized to Joyce for yelling at him after the game, said no one deserved an award more than Galarraga.

“That was awesome,” Laird said. “It was nice. Armando handled it with complete class. It was nice to see that they stepped up and they did something for him because that was a special moment for him.

“Even though it’s not going to go down in the record books, in our eyes it was a perfect game. It was nice to see someone step up and give him what he deserved.”

Said Magglio Ordonez, who would have gotten his own Corvette had he hit a single to complete the cycle: “It was nice for Galarraga. He really deserved it because he pitched one of the best games in baseball. He’s being a professional. Galarraga’s a really nice guy. He handled it like a big boy.”

The Detroit fans reflected Galarraga’s classiness before and during the game. They applauded as the umpires came onto the field and only offered a smattering of boos when Joyce’s name was announced as home-plate umpire. Click here for the rest of the story.

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