Let me set the scene. Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was one out away from pitching a perfect game. That’s one out away from eternal baseball fame. There were two outs in the ninth inning and a ground ball in the infield looked like a surefire end to the game and… the first base umpire blows a call so badly that this will likely cause an uproar for instant replay.

After the game the umpire saw the replay and said: “I just cost that kid a perfect game…I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay…It was the biggest call of my career.”

I feel terrible for this pitcher. Watch the vid:

Update: The umpire and the pitcher were both absolutely classy after the game. The umpire (Joyce) actually went to the Tigers locker room to apologize and Galarraga said he gave Joyce a hug when Joyce apologized to him after the game.

“He really feels bad,” Galarraga said. “He probably feels more bad than me. Nobody is perfect. I give a lot of credit to that guy. That (an apology) doesn’t happen. He apologized. He feels really bad. Nobody is perfect. What am I gonna do? His body language said more than a lot of words. His eyes were watery, he didn’t have too say much. His body language said a lot.”

Now that’s an amazing ending.