Perfect Behavior by a Great Guy - Lousy Behavior by a So-So Guy

The huge kerfuffle over umpire Jim Joyce’s wrong call when Cleveland’s Jason Donald was out at first, thus spoiling Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga’s perfect game last Wednesday June 3rd has gotta be laid to rest. (As if we needed any more proof that Bud Selig was as the French say, un vrai con for not reversing Joyce’s call!) Why? Because Galarraga spoke and behaved in the most graceful and professional ways possible. He accepted Joyce’s apology. He expressed neither bitterness nor anger. He knows he pitched a perfect game. And it’s enough for him. It should be enough for us too.

On the other hand Phillies right fielder Jayson Werth behaves badly in a way that reflects not just on him but on the team as well. He’s been striking out regularly, 0 for 4 last night and 0 for 5 three nights ago. Each time he strikes out he throws his bat in anger. He’s a petulant 31-year old child.

Werth was separated at birth from the “Wild Child of Aveyron (France).” “Victor” was a real boy who raised himself up in the forest seemingly without human contact in the 18th century. He was rescued by a doctor, treated humanely, and as I recall, (we’re talkin’ about the 1970 movie, right?) that kind doctor taught “Victor” to speak. Justly celebrated auteur Francois Truffault, think “Jules et Jim”, wrote and directed that movie and also played the doctor. I took my kids and some of their friends to see it just after we had moved to Manhattan. We all loved it.

But my oh my, that wild child was unclean and unkempt. He seemed never to have had any experience with soap and really did not walk upright either when he was found. Werth doesn’t appear to be having any experience with soap right presently. Yeah, he looks and acts like “Victor” to me. There’s the strikeout anger we’ve seen. There’s that strange lope around the bases. And most importantly, that repulsive, no, egregious facial hair. Ee-yew! Missing Link Department bigtime!

So how come Armando Galarraga – a Venezuelan – has more class than a 3rd generation American major leaguer? Because his parents taught him how to behave, that’s how come. Werth’s parents blew it.