Kimberly Sanchez Rael, Chair of the Board of Regents at the University of New Mexico | The University of New Mexico
A new ESPN documentary revisits one of the most debated moments in American sports history: former Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game in 2010, disrupted by a controversial call from umpire Jim Joyce. The program, titled "28 Outs: An Imperfect Story," features significant contributions from University of New Mexico Political Science adjunct professor Lawrence Jones.
Jones' involvement stems from a project undertaken during his Law and Society class at Monmouth University in 2021. Students compiled an 82-page report urging Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to reconsider the call and recognize Galarraga's effort as a perfect game.
“Mistakes can be made, but what happened in this game and why it ended up in our Law and Society class is not so much that the umpire made a mistake, but what happened after," Jones explained. “This was an analytical approach, not just for students to give their opinions, but from a professional standpoint to analytically and constructively put together an argument to persuade the commissioner to recognize the perfect game.”
The document was sent to Commissioner Manfred in 2022, who declined to overturn the call or grant recognition. However, he later discussed the situation with the students via Zoom. This interaction caught ESPN's attention, leading them to contact Jones in 2023 about featuring the project.
“In the Fall of 2021, the weeks leading up to it, I was thinking what our project could be that semester," Jones said. "I thought of the Galarraga case because even if you don’t follow baseball, there was so much more to that story in terms of history, precedent, law, culture, and social issues.”
Jones emphasized that a perfect game is among baseball’s rarest feats; fewer than 25 players have achieved it in MLB history. “He was one batter away from making history,” Jones noted.
As reported by ESPN at the time of the incident in June 2010, Galarraga was on track to become only the 21st pitcher ever to throw a perfect game when Cleveland’s Jason Donald hit a ground ball that appeared out at first base. Joyce ruled Donald safe instead.
“We are hopeful that if it’s a strong documentary and if public opinion supports it, maybe it will give the commissioner another thought for reconsideration," Jones said.
The documentary includes interviews with Galarraga himself as well as Joyce and over 30 other players, coaches, and fans. It will premiere on Sunday, August 18 at 4 p.m. ET before airing ahead of ESPN's Yankees/Tigers baseball game and will also be available for streaming on ESPN Plus.
