Have You Been ‘Joyced?’
Learn From Galarraga How To Win At Life
The amazing part of this picture is the smile on Armando’s face. Yeah, it’s full of incredulity, but that there is a smile…
…after he got ROBBED of what would have baseball’s 21st perfect game – with TWO OUTS IN THE NINTH INNING, for Pete’s sake – by first base umpire Jim Joyce. Check out this video of the actual play.
Armando, two weeks prior to pitching a perfect game,* was throwing in the minors. He had been sent down to work on his pitching (*that was a perfect game with one officiating error). That’s quite a turnaround in a few short weeks: from being demoted and wondering about the future of your career, to nearly pulling off a feat many consider the rarest and most difficult in all of sport.
This backstory is interesting information and definitely expands on an already great story in his life.
But the backstory – and even the main story itself – is NOT what I find most interesting.
What I find most interesting, and what really sticks with me, was how Galarraga handled himself after losing an opportunity that will in all likelihood never come his way again: a shot at baseball immortality.
The pinnacle…
The best a pitcher can do in a single game…
Ripped out of his hands…
And Armando doesn’t have a bad word for umpire Joyce? THAT is amazing. As amazing as the shot at the perfect game itself.
To be sure, Armando was likely furious, angry and wildly upset. But his first reaction was to smile it off!
Talk About Class
From John Lowe’s article in the Detroit Free Press:
Galarraga said Joyce told him, “I’m so sorry in my heart. I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I told him, ‘Nobody’s perfect,’ ” Galarraga said. “What am I going to say?”
“Nobody’s perfect”
Man, how many times have we beat OURSELVES up more and harder than Armando did Jim Joyce? Armando Galarraga will go down in baseball lore as the guy who pitched a perfect game, was mugged and robbed of the honor of receiving the designation of that accomplishment, and he DID NOT explode. Rather, he extended a humble grace to a person who made a monstrous mistake.
When Were You Last ‘Joyced?’
Think about it.
It happens all too frequently in real estate. A ‘client’ works with another agent, doesn’t take your sound advice, or worse yet, another agent pulls the rug out from underneath you during negotiations (good faith anyone?). We can all list too many instances where we feel, and often rightly so, that we were ‘Joyced’ of an opportunity.
Sometimes, maybe even the opportunity of a lifetime.
How have you responded in those situations? Have you practiced the Galarraga approach, extended grace to the other party, mourned (briefly) the injustice and moved on with your head high? Or have you opted for the approach that everyone expects, no one appreciates and truly does nothing but damage your reputation?
From former Congressman, J.C. Watts:
“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”
When The Eyes of A Nation Are on You…
…and you SMILE after such blatant robbery, I believe you are seeing the real Armando Galarraga. That first gut reaction by Aramando makes me believe that that is who he is to his core.
In the heat of the moment, with no time to really consider his reactions, this is how Galarraga reacted. That speaks of authenticity. REAL character.
That is the kind of person I encourage my children to admire. A person who reacts with grace and class in a high-stress moment of extreme disappointment.
What’s your take on being ‘Joyced?’
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