All In a Day’s Work: MLB Umpire Jim Joyce Avenges Failure With Heroic Act

The man behind what was probably the worst umpire-related error in Major League Baseball history avenged his failure with an act of tremendous heroism. And he has the famous 70’s disco group the Bee Gees, to thank for that.

Before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Miami Marlins, veteran umpire Jim Joyce — the man best known for ruining a shot at pitching perfection for Tigers hurler Armando Galarraga (Watch here) — avenged his sport error tenfold by conducting CPR on fan, Jayne Powers at Arizona’s Chase Field.

The result: redemption.

The longtime disco jam has been used by multiple CPR professionals over the years, when training individuals on how to conduct the life-saving act. It is the syncopated beat of the “Ah, Ah, Ah” before the “Staying alive” section of the chorus that is perfectly timed for the necessary chest compressions on an individual.

For Joyce,  it was a day of sweet salvation.

“I’ll be very honest with you,” Joyce told MLB.com. “The way I look at it is, somebody needed help and I was fortunate enough to know what to do.”

By knowing what to do, I’m sure Joyce is referencing CPR. Either that, or he is lucky enough to have had a bell bottomed disco flashback right in the nick of time.

Practice CPR with this tutorial from Family Guy star, Peter Griffin (No pleae don’t do that.)