Sure, if you want to etch your name in the pages of sports history, you could tirelessly bust your ass to reach the pinnacle of your sport, breaking records and collecting championships like gift bags along the way. Or, if you don’t have that kind of time, you could make one terrible decision that’ll force generations to remember you for how colossally screwed you rendered yourself and/or your team. Here’s the 16 most infamously dumb decisions in sports history.
16. Jim Joyce Blows Armando Galarraga’s Perfect Game
On June 2, 2010, with Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga one out from becoming the 21st pitcher to throw a perfect game, umpire Jim Joyce inexplicably called Jason Donald safe at first on an infield grounder. “I just cost that kid a perfect game,” Joyce said after the game. “I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay.” The two became friends following the incident.