There was a popular song back in the eighties whose first line was, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way” (Mac Davis, 1980).
To be successful, it is important to have a healthy self-esteem, to feel good and confident about yourself. It is also important not to spend too much time and energy trying to convince others how great we are. The concept of humility is not about thinking less of yourself, but of avoiding arrogance, pretentiousness, and self-importance.
Being a baseball fan, I want to share a baseball story that illustrates the power of character and humility. It was June 2, 2010. My favorite team, the Detroit Tigers were facing their rivals, the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park in Detroit. Pitcher Armando Galarraga was on the mound. It was the 9th inning, and he was one out away from a perfect game.
A perfect game is extremely rare in baseball. It means not only that the other team did not get any hits (a no-hitter) but that no one even got on base (no walks, errors, etc.). It is so rare that in over 135 years of professional baseball, only 23 perfect games have occurred. To throw a perfect game would be to make history for a pitcher.
It is the top of the 9th inning, there are two outs and Cleveland player Jason Donald is at the plate. Donald hits a ground ball between first and second base. First baseman Miguel Cabrera moves toward second base and fields the ball. The pitcher, Galarraga, runs to first to field the throw and catches it just as Donald reaches first. Everyone there started to celebrate the third out of the inning and Galarraga’s perfect game. First base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe!
Most players on the field are stunned. Tiger manager Jim Leyland goes out to argue the call with Joyce, but like any good umpire, Joyce held his ground. This was before the use of instant replay to challenge the umpire’s call on the field. The crowd started booing. The Tigers went on to get the third out and the game was over.
After the game, several players exchanged words with Joyce, but not the pitcher, Galarraga. After the game, umpire Joyce watched the play in the clubhouse and realized he blew the call. What did he do? He went into the Tiger’s clubhouse to find Galarraga and apologize. Joyce, a 24-year umpire admitted, “It was the biggest call of my career and I kicked it. I just cost that kid a perfect game.” Joyce apologized profusely to Galarraga. How did Galarraga react? The two hugged. Then Galarraga made this statement to reporters, “I give him a lot of credit for coming in and saying, ‘Hey, I need to talk to you to say I’m sorry.’ That doesn’t happen. You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, ‘Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry.’ He apologized to me and he felt really bad. He gave me a couple hugs. I know nobody’s perfect.”
What a great example of character and humility! It may be hard to be humble, but true character requires it. The most successful people are also humble people.
Kent Shafer 