Forget "Perfection"

Perfection is possible in the game of baseball.

Journalism is not baseball.

In journalism, the word “perfection” can only be ironic.

For example, facing a deadline while lacking a quote from the one source crucial to make your story complete, the cell-phone rings! The source is on the line! After patiently explaining how crucial the comment of this source will be to the story you are going to run, the source says, “No Comment.”

In journalism, that is as close as you can expect to achieving “perfection.”

In the timeless sport of baseball, in contrast, perfection does, occasionally, occur, if only to show us poor mortals what the word means.

On July 23, 2009, for example, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buerhle threw a perfect game. Because I have been a White Sox fan since I was a sprout growing up in Chicago, Buerhle’s achievement means a lot to me, as well as to all baseball fans, whatsoever their favorite team may be.

Since May 5, 1904 when the legendary Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox blanked the Philadelphia Athletics by a score of 3-0, there have only been sixteen perfect games in the Major Leagues. A perfect game means that not one batter reached base, even on a walk or an error, over nine innings.

Twenty-seven hitters stepped to the plate. All twenty-seven went down.

That is perfection, just to define the term in specific detail.

Meanwhile, in the world of journalism, mistakes happen. Inevitably.

In the world of student journalism, we include the mistakes in our lesson plans so we can learn not to make them next time around.

When we make the same mistakes, we go back to the lesson plans.

Even so, in baseball, if you can knock out a base hit in every one-of-three times at the plate, you are most likely headed for the Hall of Fame.

One-in-three decent stories in the world of journalism is not all that great.

So give credit where it is due. Most of the articles in the Sept. 2, 2009, issue of The Picket were hits. Hats-off to the editor and The Picket staff.

Not only were there a lot of solid stories, the photos were excellent!

Also, the layout of The Picket has reached new levels of satisfaction.

Let us not forget that when Mark Buerhle threw nine pristine innings, he still needed utility outfielder DeWayne Wise to save his perfection.

Without Wise’s leaping, falling, miraculous catch, Buerhle would not be in the record books. Even perfect game pitchers need excellent back-up.

So, the editor of The Picket deserves kudos. But so do the whole staff.

Yes, a panoply of bloopers landed in the Sept. 2, 2009, issue. But why dwell on AP Style, apostrophe usage, floating quotes, and similar troubles?

For once, and it is to be hoped for many issues to come, The Picket deserves a vote of thanks from the Shepherd community. Especially from students.

Are you clapping?

I don’t hear you.

Let’s hear some applause for The Picket!

Forget “perfection.”

Published in The Picket 9/9/09