A lot of men my age draw too many life lessons from sports. But I’m a man my age, so I drew three career lessons from last night’s Detroit Tigers game:
- Don’t let complaints about the things you can’t control distract you from focusing on what you can control and finishing your job.
- Take responsibility for your work and admit your mistakes.
- Tradition is no excuse for failure to innovate.
Focus on what you control
Armando Galarraga pitched a perfect game last night. The baseball record book won’t reflect that, though, because first-base umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on what should have been the final out of the game. It was perhaps the toughest call for an umpire to make: a bang-bang play at first base, with the pitcher covering. Both men are in motion swiftly and the umpire needs to decide instantly with his naked eye which of two events several feet apart happens first: the ball hitting the glove or the runner’s foot hitting the bag (while also being sure the pitcher’s foot was on the bag when he caught the ball). Anyone who has umpired a few recreational games knows that’s a tough call. And when the crowd is cheering the apparent end of a perfect game, you can’t rely on the sound of the ball hitting the glove to help you out.
Galarraga couldn’t control the umpire’s call, though. He made a beautiful play at first base, which should have entitled him to the embrace of his teammates and the celebration of a lifetime. But Joyce called the runner safe.
Galarraga didn’t argue, but he clearly was stunned. I really admire his professionalism and sense of responsibility, though: He didn’t lose focus on his job. His job isn’t to umpire and it’s not to pitch a perfect game. His job is to win the game. That was a 3-0 game and he was one batter away from facing the tying run. So he returned his attention to the task at hand, retired the next batter on a ground ball and finished the job.
Contrast that with what happened in the most famous blown first-base call of all-time: Don Denkinger’s call in the ninth inning of Game Six of the 1985 World Series. (I lived in Kansas City at the time, was a big Royals’ fan and remember it well.) The St. Louis Cardinals were three outs from winning the World Series. The Royals’ Jorge Orta, leading off the ninth inning, hit a ground ball to the right side of the infield and hustled down the line. Todd Worrell, the Cardinals’ ace relief pitcher, hustled over to cover first and the throw barely beat Orta (it was a closer call than last night by almost half a step, but easier in one respect because Worrell was able to get set at first base and Galarraga was on the run). Denkinger, like Joyce, blew the bang-bang play and called Orta safe.
Worrell and Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog argued vehemently. And they lost focus on their job, which was not to umpire the game. This was just one batter and he was just at first base. If Worrell and his teammates could do their jobs and retire three more hitters, they would be world champions.
But the Cardinals, who had played an outstanding 1-0 game to that point, lost their focus on controlling what they could and finishing the job at hand. In the next few minutes, Worrell’s teammates let a routine pop foul drop between two fielders and let a runner advance on a passed ball. Worrell himself gave up two hits, including a pinch-hit single by Dane Iorg that scored the tying and winning runs, forcing a Game Seven.
Even the next evening, the Cardinals did not regain their focus on what they could control. Pitchers John Tudor and Joaquin Andujar and Herzog lost their composure. The Royals blew out the Cardinals 11-0 and the Royals celebrated their only world championship. And Cardinal fans and players remain bitter to this day.
This is also a leadership lesson. I didn’t watch the game last night, so I don’t know if Tigers Manager Jim Leyland or catcher Alex Avila talked with Galarraga after the blown call to help him refocus on the task at hand. But Herzog clearly failed to help his rookie pitcher refocus in 1985 and probably contributed to his team’s loss of composure.
In every workplace, we are dependent on the calls and performance of other workers. Galarraga benefited last night from a spectacular catch by centerfielder Austin Jackson for the first out of the ninth inning. The Cardinals in 1985 benefited earlier in Game Six from a blown call when Frank White clearly stole second base and was called out (the next hitter singled, so the call cost the Royals a run). Other people will make our jobs harder and they will make it easier. We can’t control the performance of other people. But we can focus on doing our own jobs well.
Admit your mistakes
Joyce provided an excellent example for all workers in his responsibility. By all accounts, he is an outstanding umpire. He made a tough call to the best of his ability. And after the game, he watched the replay. And he took full responsibility, admitting his mistake publicly, going to the Tigers’ clubhouse to apologize to Galarraga, and saying he felt terrible about costing the pitcher a perfect game.
The perfection Galarraga achieved last night is rare (only 20 times in history has anyone pitched a perfect game). We all make mistakes. Joyce earned a lot of respect by taking responsibility.
Tradition doesn’t excuse failure to innovate
It’s been 25 years since the blown Denkinger call, which detracted from one of the all-time great comebacks in World Series play. The National Football League and both professional and college basketball use instant replay to correct calls that are easily corrected. Occasionally, the replay slows down a game, but not any more than protracted arguments slow down games. Baseball uses replay only to determine whether a ball was a homerun. Baseball should allow umpires to review a few key calls per game on the basepaths and foul lines (not balls and strikes, where replay is inconclusive). But baseball, like a lot of businesses, is way to slow to innovate.
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Steve Buttry, Ian Hill. Ian Hill said: C3: Workplace lessons from an imperfect perfect game http://bit.ly/cvEPWK […]
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Great read!
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Your first point is the hardest for me, but the most important I’ve learned in my career. It’s hard to let go, but sometimes it’s the best thing you can do for your story (and your sanity)
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[…] href=”https://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/workplace-lessons-from-an-imperfect-perfect-game/” title=”A must-read blog post by Steve Buttry”>A must-read blog post by Steve […]
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[…] Before I elaborate on the Don Denkinger call, I should note that I blogged on The Buttry Diary, including a call for instant replay, about the Jim Joyce missed call. […]
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