If an umpire draws attention during a baseball game then something probably went wrong -- and fans probably are blaming the man in blue for whatever happened.
Something did go wrong at Chase Field on Monday night when the Arizona Diamondbacks were hosting the Miami Marlins. Something did go wrong and an umpire was at the center of it all. But this incident occurred before the game and everyone was lauding veteran MLB umpire Jim Joyce.
As first reported by Scott Miller of CBS Sports and Steve Gilbert of MLB.com, Joyce performed CPR on a female employee at Chase Field and helped save her life prior to working behind home plate.
Per Miller, Diamondbacks gameday employee Jayne Powers suffered a seizure about 90 minutes before the game in the tunnel near the umpires' dressing room.
"I knew something was wrong," Joyce said, via MLB.com. "And I knew if something wasn't done, this lady could actually die in front of me. It was more instinct than anything else."
According to the reports, paramedics arrived and used an automatic external defibrillator while Joyce continued to administer CPR. Powers, who has been a D-Backs employee since the club's inaugural season in 1998, didn't respond to the initial shocks from the defibrillator but was revived.
Powers was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital, according to the Arizona Republic, and was in stable condition after having a pacemaker installed in her heart. She might be released from the hospital by the end of the week.
According to CBS Sports, the other umpires in the crew that night suggested that they swap and Joyce work third base instead of home plate, but he declined.
Joyce is perhaps best known for blowing the call that robbed Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarrage of a perfect game back in 2010. At the time, Joyce offered a tearful admission of his mistake and what seemed a very heartfelt apology to Galarraga and the Tigers. It seemed perhaps the best possible way to handle such an unfortunate situation. Again in an unfortunate situation on Monday, Joyce acted quickly, decisively and with compassion. At least in Arizona, he won't just be the ump who that call in that game.