The Twitterverse exploded Wednesday night when what should have been a perfect game thrown by the virtually unknown pitcher, Armando Galarraga, was inexplicably denied by a blown call from umpire Jim Joyce.

With only one out to go in his quest for a perfect game (that’s when you retire all 27 batters you face in a row), Galarraga induced a difficult grounder to his first baseman, Miguel Cabrera, who played the groundball nicely and threw it to Galarraga who was scrambling to cover first base. Although the play appeared to be close, it was obvious (even to the naked eye), that the throw had beaten the runner to the bag and Galarraga got his foot on the bag before the runner. However, umpire Joyce called the baserunner safe, taking away the perfect game, the no-hitter, and quickly stamping his identity as the umpire who stole a historic night from Galarraga, the Detroit Tigers and Major League Baseball.

As the fans lustily booed the umpire, one thing was clear: this was not going to be forgotten soon.

Soon after the game ended, Joyce ran back to the clubhouse to see the instant replay of what should have been the last out. Joyce quickly realized he blew the call, and immediately found Galarraga and apologized for his historic mistake. Not only did he man up, but when the press asked him about the missed call, these were some of Joyce’s sound bites:

- “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”

- “I don’t blame the Tigers for anything that was said after the game.”

- “This was a history call. And I kicked the (stuff) out of it.”

Detroit Tiger’s coach, Jim Leyland, noted in the post-game press conference that baseball is full of “the human element,” and that no one would feel worse about this than Joyce. Even Galarraga chose to take the higher road saying, “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. His body English said more than the words. Nobody’s perfect.”

Maybe the most powerful of statements came from Don Denkinger, who is famously known for his blown call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series. A blown call that eventually led to the St. Louis Cardinals losing that game and the series. Knowing a thing or two by being haunted by one mistake, Denkinger was asked why he kept a photograph in his office that clearly depicts the botched call. He replied that it was to remind him that we’re human and we can all make mistakes. He also added, “We’re not always on top, sometimes we’re on the bottom.”

Today is a bottom kind of day for umpire Jim Joyce. Major League Baseball gave him the opportunity to skip working today’s game in Detroit. A game that would put Joyce as the home plate umpire. It would also put a heat lamp on his head as fans would boo him endlessly and every call of his would be seen through a microscopic, unforgiving fan base. Still, Joyce refused to sit out today.

At the beginning of today’s game, Galarraga was chosen to bring out the lineup card for his team to the umpire crew. Fittingly, he would have to hand the lineup card to Joyce, the very umpire that took away his name being etched into the history books just one night ago. As he handed the lineup card, Galarraga gave a forgiving pat and handshake to Joyce. As Galarraga greeted the other umpires, the cameras caught Joyce wiping his eyes as tears welled up.

Joyce is after all only human.