Chicago White Sox pitcher Philip Humber became the 21st player to record a “perfect game,” becoming another no-name pitcher who has achieved baseball immortality. Humber’s first six years as an occasional call-up from the minors was barely measurable; 2011 was his first significant action, starting 26 games for the White Sox, finished 9-9 with a respectable 3.75 era. Armando Gallaraga, who barely missed pitching a perfect game in 2010, had one good season with the Tigers in 2008, 13-7 with 3.73 era, but otherwise he’s been a mediocre and apparently not on a major league roster this year, having been released by Baltimore before the season began. Fun fact: No pitcher has pitched an official perfect game that extended beyond nine innings, although in 1959 Harvey Haddix became the only player to pitch more than nine perfect innings in a game, in fact pitched 12 perfect innings before falling apart in the 13th inning.
There is, however, a disturbing quality to Humber’s perfect game and Gallaraga’s near miss. In the latter game, if you look at replays, umpire Jim Joyce isn’t even looking at the bag; he appears to have this malicious glee at calling the batter safe, even though everyone else—including the home plate umpire who could have reversed the call—saw that the batter was out. Baseball commissioner Bud Selig refused to right the wrong, for the “integrity” of the game. You might recall that there was discussion about instant replay at the time that never materialized. On the other hand, Humber benefited from a non-check swing call on ball four that ended the game; why it wasn’t appealed to the first base umpire is mystifying. If the umpire who called strike three didn’t want to mess with “history,” then why wasn’t that true in the Gallaraga case? Was race involved?
It’s not as simplistic an argument as you might think. Yes, we remember when a Hispanic (Fernando Valenzuela) and a black (Dave Stewart) pitched no-hitters on the same day; Juan Nieves is the only Brewer to pitch a no-hitter, although I remember that Robin Yount—by then playing in the outfield—made a more “acrobatic” than necessary catch to end the game. But the only non-white player to pitch a perfect game was Dennis Martinez. Pedro Martinez pitched 9 perfect innings in a game when he was with Montreal, but allowed a lead-off double in the tenth. In the case of Gallaraga, that glee in Joyce’s face to steal a Hispanic man’s one moment of glory typified the injustices inherent in this country; this week, the Supreme Court is going to hear arguments that will justify turning this country into a fascist state for 40 million Hispanics, where they can be detained by police for arbitrary reasons and “asked” for their “papers.”
You might also notice that baseball’s new CBA will make it more difficult for “foreign” players—the vast majority who are from Latin America—to play in the U.S.. You think this won’t have an effect on the “ethnic” make-up of teams and the opportunities for Hispanic players? Check the Mariners roster; Jason Vargas is the only U.S.-born Hispanic player. The NBA doesn’t have similar rules against European players. Where does this come from? On my blog I wrote about the comments Shawn Kemp made on the “Bob and Groz” show a few months ago, in which he decried the alleged lack of players on baseball teams that “real” Americans could “identify” with. There is no surprise in this, because black baseball players like Torii Hunter have blamed Hispanics for the decrease in the percentage of black baseball players, when the blame really lies in the decrease in interest by and opportunities for black kids in playing baseball. Denying opportunities for Hispanic players hurts baseball, but who cares if there is a political point to be made?
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