Perfect game reaction a lesson for Little Leaguers

On June 2, baseball umpire Jim Joyce blew a huge call: the final out on Detroit Tigers’ pitcher Armando Galarraga’s attempt at a perfect game. Seeing the replay later, the ump lamented, inconsolable: “I missed it, I missed it. I took a perfect game from that kid… I’m sorry. I had a great angle and I missed the call,” reported the Detroit News. He met with Galarraga after the game in person.

The young pitcher’s response? Sportsmanship in action.  “He feels really bad, probably worse than me. I give a lot of credit to that guy, to say he’s sorry. I gave him a hug,” said Galarraga. And then the topper:  “Nobody’s perfect.” 

Contrast this to Chicago Cubs pitcher Milt Pappas who also lost a perfect game on a questionable call nearly 40 years ago. Pappas’s lifelong sour refrain? “I was robbed.”

With Little League in full swing, think about it: Which guy do you want your kid to emulate?                       

by Cathy O’Connell-Cahill, columnist for At Home with Our Faith newsletter, which recently won the 2010 award for General Excellence from the Catholic Press Association.

Take a look at At Home with Our Faith, Claretian Publications’ print newsletter for parents on nurturing spirituality in the home—read a sample issue.   We offer very low rates for parish use, as well as our free Moms’ Night Out  monthly discussion guides. And don’t miss our popular single-page parish handouts on handing on the faith, helping kids understand the Mass, Lent, and Advent.

“A [family] calendar is a moral document”

Sojourners magazine editor Jim Wallis reflects here on how becoming a father late in life has led him to see that a calendar is a moral document.

“I began to build my speaking and travel schedule,” he says, “around things like Little League baseball, or even just putting them to bed at night — which I now do most nights of their lives. After a while, I realized I wasn’t just doing this for them — but also for me.”

What do our family calendars say about what, and who, we value most? And dads, Happy Father’s Day!