Ten years after the fact, Armando Galarraga still wants to be perfect.
On June 2, 2010, Galarraga - then pitching for the Detroit Tigers - was denied a rare perfect game against the Cleveland Indians when umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly called the would-be 27th out safe at first base. Instead of perfection, Galarraga had to settle for a one-hit shutout, and the moment became one of baseball's most famous blown calls.
Galarraga, who's now retired from baseball, believes it's time for MLB to officially recognize the achievement.
"I was like, What can I do to have a better finish to the story?" the 38-year-old told Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic. "How can Major League Baseball give me the perfect game? Because it was perfect, right?"
"Why not? Why wait for so long? I don't want to die, and then they'll be like, 'You know what, he threw a perfect game.'"
At the time, MLB's replay system was in its infancy and only used to review close home run calls. Despite immediate protests from the Tigers and later from others around baseball, Joyce's call stood.
An emotional Joyce admitted his mistake postgame, telling reporters that he had "kicked the (crap) out of" the call and "took a perfect game away from that kid." The next day, he apologized to Galarraga - who delivered the Tigers' lineup card - at home plate, turning a chorus of boos from the Detroit crowd into an ovation.
Joyce, who has since retired from umpiring, still stands with Galarraga and would like to see his error overturned.
"I agree with him," Joyce told Stavenhagen. "I agree. Because he did it."
Galarraga finished 2010 with a 4.49 ERA in 25 appearances with the Tigers and last pitched in the majors during 2012. He's one of 13 pitchers since 1908 to have lost a perfect game on the 27th batter.
There have only been 23 perfect games in MLB history and none since 2012. In 1991, MLB retroactively changed how it recognizes no-hitters. That decision removed Harvey Haddix's 12 perfect innings in a loss from the official record books.
