MLB umpire Jim Joyce once spoke about feeling "worse than his dad's death" after blowing Armando Galarraga's perfect game with poor call

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga's perfect game in 2010 was taken away from him by MLB umpire Jim Joyce in what can only be described as the biggest blown call in major league history.

The game was played between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in June 2010 and is sometimes referred to as the "Imperfect Game" or the "Galarraga Game."

Galarraga pitched 8 2⁄3 perfect innings, but his perfect game was ruined after an incorrect ruling. Jason Donald was incorrectly ruled safe by Joyce after hitting a ground ball to Miguel Cabrera, who tossed it to Galarraga on first base.

Galarraga went on to retire the next batter. He threw 88 pitches in total, with 67 of them being strikes. After the game, Joyce spoke with Galarraga and apologized profusely after recognizing that he had made a bad call.

"I can't even explain the feeling, because there are no words. It's almost worse than my dad's death. That's how bad I felt," he was quoted as saying by ESPN.

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Jim Joyce was given plenty of support by MLB community after botched call

Galarraga took the botched call in stride and told reporters after the game, "Nobody's perfect."

Other members of the MLB community, including Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski, also expressed their support for Joyce in the aftermath of the incident.

Galarraga played for the Tigers for three seasons before moving to the Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Joyce, meanwhile, worked in the American League (AL) from 1987 to 1999 then for the entirety of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2016. Although Joyce's umpiring was generally well-regarded by players and coaches, his worst call cost Galarraga a flawless game. He left his position on Jan. 16, 2017.