Worst! Calls! Ever!

Slide show: Umpire Jim Joyce's error ruined Armando Galarraga's perfect game. How does it stack up against history?

Published June 4, 2010 1:04AM (EDT)

Dallas Stars Brett Hull (22) raises his arms after scoring the game winning goal on Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek in the third overtime of Game 6 to win the Stanley Cup Finals in Buffalo, NY, Sunday, June 20, 1999. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Associated Press)
Dallas Stars Brett Hull (22) raises his arms after scoring the game winning goal on Buffalo Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek in the third overtime of Game 6 to win the Stanley Cup Finals in Buffalo, NY, Sunday, June 20, 1999. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Associated Press)

Umpire Jim Joyce's blown call Wednesday night, which cost Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game, is already the stuff of legend. Was it the worst blown call in history?

It was the worst blown call in Jim Joyce's history, that's for sure. And surely the worst in Galarraga's until-now ordinary baseball career. Because it merely affected a line in a record book -- Galarraga would have been the 21st pitcher in MLB history to throw a perfect game, dating to 1880 -- it lacks the historical heft of the greatest officiating mistakes.

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By King Kaufman

King Kaufman is a senior writer for Salon. You can e-mail him at king at salon dot com. Facebook / Twitter / Tumblr

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