DETROIT (AP)—It will go down as one of the worst umpiring calls in baseball history—Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga(notes) was robbed of a perfect game on Wednesday just as he thought he’d completed one of the game’s rarest feats.

With two outs in the ninth, and Galarraga not having allowed a single Cleveland Indians player to reach even first base, he needed only one more out to complete the 21st ever perfect game in the U.S. major leagues.

Cleveland’s Jason Donald(notes) hit a groundball to the area between first and second base. Detroit first baseman Miguel Cabrera(notes) fielded it, and tossed it to Galarraga, who’d dashed over to first base to complete the out. Galarraga squeezed the ball in his mitt, stepped on first base with his right foot and was ready to celebrate.
What happened next will be the talk of baseball for the rest of this season and likely a lot longer: the perfect game that wasn’t.

Umpire Jim Joyce emphatically called Donald safe, the Detroit Tigers argued and a chorus of groans and boos echoed in Comerica Park.

Then Joyce emphatically said he was wrong and later, in tears, hugged Galarraga and apologized.

“It was the biggest call of my career, and I kicked the (stuff) out of it,” Joyce said, looking and sounding distraught as he paced in the umpires’ locker room. “I just cost that kid a perfect game.”