Detroit Tigers – Five Players Who Turned Into Pumpkins
By Chris Brown
![A Siberian tiger works on a pumpkin filled with meat on September 27, 2018 at the Tierpark Hagenbeck zoo in Hamburg, northern Germany. (Photo by Axel Heimken / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT (Photo credit should read AXEL HEIMKEN/DPA/AFP via Getty Images) A Siberian tiger works on a pumpkin filled with meat on September 27, 2018 at the Tierpark Hagenbeck zoo in Hamburg, northern Germany. (Photo by Axel Heimken / dpa / AFP) / Germany OUT (Photo credit should read AXEL HEIMKEN/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/https-3A-2F-2Fmotorcitybengals-com-2Fwp-content-2Fuploads-2Fgetty-images-2F2017-2F07-2F1041575722-850x560-934968c15028cb1f56c060bb2df4a90e.jpg)
Armando Galarraga
Armando Galarraga will forever be known for that fateful night in June 2010 when he lost his perfect game on a blown call by first-base umpire Jim Joyce. But his subsequent forgiveness of Joyce, and the grace with which he handled the incident, arguably helped Galarraga achieve a greater level of notoriety than he would have from the perfect game alone, because he otherwise had a very mediocre career.
But, back in 2008, Armando Galarraga was one of the few bright spots in a terrible Detroit Tigers season, and he looked like a future rotation stalwart. The club had traded for Edgar Renteria, Miguel Cabrera, and Dontrelle Willis, among others, but by the end of the season sports radio hosts were calling Cabrera a bust, saying Justin Verlander was another Jeremy Bonderman, and declaring Armando Galarraga the team’s real ace.
Galarraga did pitch well that season, compiling a 13-7 record with a 3.73 ERA over 178.2 innings, and his 4.0 bWAR was tied for the 5th highest for any Tigers pitcher in the decade. But Galarraga’s underlying stats, including a .236 BABIP and a 4.88 FIP, suggested he was extremely lucky in 2008.
And sure enough, he turned into a pumpkin. Galarraga posted a 5.64 ERA in 2009 , began 2010 back in Toledo, and in 2011 Detroit traded him for two minor-league pitchers. He threw just 66.2 more innings at the MLB level, and by 2015 he was out of baseball.