All you had to do was look at Armando Galarraga's face when umpire Jim Joyce missed the final call of his "imperfect" game.
Surprisingly, Gallaraga had a smile on his face. In fact, he looked as if he was on the verge of laughing, perhaps realizing the mortality of his own moment. His rare shot at glory dashed away by a just-as-rare blown call.
What happened after the game was just as surprising. Joyce, essentially in tears over his mistake, personally apologized for costing Gallaraga his shot at immortality.
"It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the [stuff] out of it," Joyce told The Associated Press. "I just cost that kid a perfect game."
Gallaraga appreciated the sentiment.
"You don't see an umpire after the game come out and say, 'Hey, let me tell you I'm sorry,' " Galarraga told the AP. "He felt really bad. He didn't even shower."
In a season where umpires and referees have been making the news for all the wrong reasons, Joyce's response to his infamous gaffe was a rare display of sportsmanship. So rare that even after the terrible moment, players still considered Joyce the best umpire in the game, according to an ESPN survey. It’s a reputation he carries into the Red Sox' series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, a series he is working.
Many sports fans are quick to say that sportsmanship is dead, or at least quickly on the way out. Joyce and Gallaraga's moment in time proves that that may not be the case. So where else can we still find sportsmanship alive and well?
Hockey Handshakes
It is a staple of playoff hockey, both teams lining up at the conclusion of a series to exchange handshakes. It's a moment where no matter how much the teams hated each other during the series, no matter how much Chris Pronger got on the nerves of the Chicago Blackhawks, both teams put everything aside for a few moments and relish in the competition. It's a moment that defines love of the game and transcends everything else.
Nykesha Sales’ Record-Setting Game
Sales was set to become the all-time leading scorer in the history of UConn’s women basketball in 1998 when a torn Achilles’ tendon ended her season. One point shy of the Kerry Bascom’s record, Sales was allowed to break the mark in a rare and still controversial manner. In UConn's next game against Villanova, Sales was allowed to score on an uncontested layup on the first play of the game, giving her the two points she needed to pass Bascum for the mark. (Villanova then was allowed to score an uncontested layup, so the game started at 2-2). Though controversial to some, the play epitomized a moment of players putting aside their differences in the face of history. Sales’ record stood for a decade, before Tina Charles broke it this season .
Sara Tucholsky and the assisted home run
Facing her final year of softball at Western Oregon, in her final at bat, in her final game, Tucholsky did something she had not done during her four-year career in college softball: She hit her first home run, a shot to dead center that broke a 0-0 tie with Central Washington. As she rounded the bases, she fell while turning first, tore her ACL and could not continue. Unable to remove Tucholsky for a pinch-runner without erasing her home run, another surprise occurred. Mallory Holtman, Central Washington’s leading home run hitter, offered to pick up Tucholsky and help her finish her home run trot.
World Cup Anthems
Finally, with the World Cup in full swing, it's hard to ignore one special moment. Before every game, both competing teams, with their countries' flag behind them, stand for their respective anthems and exchange a team emblem. True, it's a little similar to Olympic medal ceremonies, but rather than celebrate the winning country, the pregame anthems in the World Cup represent a time where the competition at hand is put aside and players are allowed to revel in the moment. It’s a time where all involved can truly appreciate the opportunity they’ve been given to represent their respective countries before competing in what is truly the world's game.
