27 batters up, 27 batters down.

A perfect game. It's the most rare feat in all of professional sports; one that takes a flawless combination of skill, luck, and timing. And on Wednesday night, we saw an act of perfection put together by Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga.

Unfortunately, an umpire didn't see it go down like the rest of us did.

With 2 outs in the 9th inning of a perfect game in progress, Armando Galarraga induced a weak ground ball to first base from Jason Donald. The Indians shortstop ran down the line and appeared to be victim number 27, the last out of perfection. Instead, first base umpire Jim Joyce called Donald safe, and the perfection was no more. Replays showed that the runner was clearly out.

But today, there's no replay in baseball. And forever, Armando Galarraga will not have a perfect game to his record like he should.

In the last 120 years of Major League Baseball, before this season, there had been a total of 18 perfect games thrown by pitchers. In the first 2 months of the 2010 MLB season, there have already been 2 perfectos thrown. Galarraga should have been the 3rd, an unprecedented feat that would have fans and analysts wondering if dominant starting pitching is starting to beckon a new era of baseball. Never before have there been 3 perfect games in a 3-year span in baseball history, let alone in 2 months during a single baseball season.

But instead, umpire Jim Joyce decided to deny an unbelievable record. This one bad call will forever change baseball history, and it shouldn't be that way. It's time for instant replay in baseball.

Jason Donald was out at first base. Armando Galarraga should have a perfect game. Jim Joyce made a bad call.

Nobody feels worse about this than the man who made the call. Jim Joyce is the sickest man in sports right now, and he will likely forever be remembered for this one call in one fairly meaningless regular season game. A man that has umped in All-Star games and World Series' will forever have a legacy as the one who stole away a perfect game.

"I just cost that kid a perfect game. I thought he beat the throw. I was convinced he beat the throw, until I saw the replay," said Joyce after the game. "It was the biggest call of my career."

Nobody feels worse. If instant replay was available in baseball, Joyce would not have this stress on him for the rest of his life, and would not be tortured by fans and players for the foreseeable future.

"He's human, nobody's perfect," said Galarraga after the game, referring to the umpire. The pitcher continued to go on about how bad he felt for the umpire, and he proved to be a class act. Galarraga was not angry or bitter or disappointed; his team had won the game and he pitched an amazing game. Instead, he showed class and felt bad for the umpire that denied a historic feat.

This would not have been an issue if instant replay were available. There would be no need for a pitcher to answer questions about how he feels for an umpire's call.

"The performance was absolutely perfect. That's the nature of the business. The umpires are human. The players are human. The writers are human. Jimmy's a real good umpire, and he has been for a long time," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

Another classy response from a man affected by the umpire's awful call. But awful calls that affect games and affect history have no place in the game. With instant replay, they never would.

ESPN baseball writer Buster Olney expressed his thoughts via Twitter: "Feel badly for Jim Joyce-An umpire who cares. But this will become Exhibit A on why baseball should have already had broader use of replay," tweeted Olney (@Buster_ESPN). "It's just excruciating watching these replays. For Galarraga, for Cabrera, for Jim Joyce. Replay, please."

It's simply obvious. It's time for instant replay in baseball. Every other sport installs instant replay to remove the chance for a bad call to affect the outcome of a game at the most crucial point.

Football has booth reviews for a questionable touchdown or fumble.

Basketball has replay to check for clock malfunctions or last-second shot opportunities.

Hockey has tape to check if the puck is over the line in situations of a near-goal.

Baseball has replay to check for home runs, and home runs only. But unlike football or basketball or hockey, baseball has multiple ways to score points. An infield single and close call at first base is just as important as a 450-foot home run. It's time to consider the potential hazards of relying on umpires to make every single safe-or-out call.

Umpires are not perfect, and it's more important to get a call CORRECT than it is to blame it on a classic, "human element" factor of the game.

Last season, baseball made an in-season change to implement instant replay for home runs. It's time to do the same for umpire calls.

Instant replay, baseball needs you!