Jim Joyce found himself between humanity and history last night when Armando Galarraga was just two outs away from pitching a perfect game. He would have been the first Detroit Tiger in 100 years to do so! Joyce was the first base umpire and he missed a crucial call when the first baseman clearly had his foot on the bag before the runner got there. It was the epitome of human error, and with the sport’s reluctance to embrace instant replay Joyce was on his own to make the call with no safety net. That the missed call was remarkable can’t be disputed, but what was even more amazing was what happened afterwords. While the Tiger bench went ballistic, bursting out of the dug out with daggers drawn, Galarraga responded by getting ready for the next out so the team could win the game…he didn’t lose his cool, he didn’t threaten anyone or carry on like so many of the fools playing professional sports these days, he was certainly pissed but he handled himself with dignity and class.
Of course that’s not the end of the story, when the game was over Joyce viewed the video and realized his mistake right away and when faced with his own failure he stood up and apologized in such a genuine way that he took many people by surprise. The question is…What can this teach us about apologizing when we’ve made a mistake? I believe the best approach is simple, and essentially human…be genuine and let your apology be an apology. We all make mistakes, in fact, if you’re not making mistakes, you’re probably not making much of anything. Apologizing is perhaps one of the most human things we can do to touch people and turn perceptions back in our favor. When we own our mistakes, whether “we” might be an individual, company, or any other organization, a genuine apology is truly the best course of action. Make it simple, make it real, and let your apology be an apology.
See Joyce’s apology here…