Armando Galarraga’s grace is worthy of All-Star status

Armando in Anaheim:An All-Star among us

Bud Selig handled the imperfect game perfectly, admitting that baseball needs to reform its replay system but refusing to overturn the blown call that cost Detroit’s Armando Galarraga a perfect game.

That would have set an untenable precedent, with teams petitioning for retroactive relief from judgment calls: Hey, Bud, the Angels want to redo Game 2 of the 2005 American League Championship Series, when Doug Eddings said his “strike-three mechanic” did not indicate he had called A.J. Pierzynski out.

This is not to say the commissioner should do nothing for Galarraga. Selig should put him on the All-Star team, for transforming what could have been an ugly moment in baseball history into a wonderfully classy one.

Galarraga did not explode in anger at Jim Joyce, the umpire who blew the call. He accepted Joyce’s apology with remarkable grace, a teaching moment for all of us who would like to believe that sport offers lessons in keeping poise under pressure.

In a program called “All-Stars Among Us,” baseball rewards community volunteers from around the country with a trip to the All Star game. Galarraga is a role model as well, for every Little Leaguer learning how to respond to adversity. He should get a trip to the All-Star game too, with plenty of room for him on a 34-man roster.

Galarraga did not get a perfect game, and so be it. He ought to get a standing ovation in Anaheim.

The itinerantMr. October

Orlando Cabrera went to the playoffs with the Angels in 2007, the Chicago White Sox in 2008 and the Minnesota Twins in 2009.

The Cincinnati Reds haven’t been to the playoffs since 1995, but Cabrera signed to play shortstop for them last winter, and here they are, neck and neck with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central.

“I’m not surprised,” Cabrera said. “Out of spring training, the only team in the division we were concerned with was St. Louis.”

The Reds lead the league in runs and home runs. Third baseman Scott Rolen ranks second in the NL in homers, through Friday, with the five-time All-Star enjoying a renaissance season at 35.

First baseman Joey Votto is putting up statistics almost indistinguishable from those of Albert Pujols. Votto is batting .317, with 11 home runs and a .977 on-base plus slugging percentage. Pujols is at .318, with 12 home runs and a .993 OPS.

The Reds could use a setup man or two, but they have enviable depth in starting pitching. Mike Leake, who jumped from Arizona State into the Reds’ rotation, entered the weekend with no losses in 10 major league starts, a 2.45 earned-run average — and a .381 batting average. Leake is the first drafted pitcher to go from college ball into a major league rotation since Jim Abbott did it for the Angels in 1989.

Johnny Cueto has not lost since April 24. Veterans Bronson Arroyo and Aaron Harang have pitched better lately.

And, as the Dodgers and other clubs scour the majors for starters, the Reds have two on deck: Cuban import Aroldis Chapman, who is 5-2 with a 3.42 ERA at triple-A Louisville, and Edinson Volquez, the Ubaldo Jimenez of 2008. Volquez, recovering from Tommy John surgery, could return to the Reds in August.

—Bill Shaikin