June Pickups

[Scott Garner]

Not pre-war, but lots of fun... My daughter Sadie helped me complete a 3-year autograph project on Saturday.

Perhaps some of you remember the Armando Galarraga "Almost Perfect" game on June 2, 2010. Umpire Jim Joyce blew the call on the 27th out to prevent Galarraga from becoming the 21st player in ML history to throw a perfect game.

My wife, kids and I are die-hard Detroit Tigers fans. When the game occurred in 2010, as is typical on most nights in our household, we watched in HORROR as fate stole an unbelievable game from Galarraga and the Tigers.

I felt compelled to e-mail MLB commissioner Bud Selig the next day to see if I could convince him to reverse the call. No chance, as Mr. Selig is the "Master of Inaction"...

I was shocked to receive a response letter back from Mr. Selig a few days later. Over the last few years, I have managed to track down all three of the players mentioned in Selig's letter regarding one of baseball's strangest games: Armando Galarraga, umpire Jim Joyce and finally Detroit Tiger's Manager Jim Leyland. Leyland does not frequently sign autographs, so I was thrilled when a baseball card show in the Detroit area offered up the Detroit skipper on Saturday.

Mission accomplished! Here is the completed letter project; something that my family and I can share forever...

I also have included photos of my daughter Sadie, Mr. Leyland, Paws (the Detroit Tiger's mascot) and me. Additionally, here's a photo of a theme ball signed by Armando Galarraga and umpire Jim Joyce surrounding the "Almost Perfect" game.

BTW, Galarraga and Joyce wrote a terrific book that I recently read on the game entitled "Nobody's Perfect". Check it out, it's a great read

Enjoy!