Veteran Umpire Jim Joyce didn't expect to save a woman's life before the Diamondbacks took on the Miami Marlins on Monday, but that's exactly what he may have done. While heading to his dressing room last night around 5:15 pm, Joyce realized that he had to react quickly to a situation that could have been tragic. Joyce administered CPR to Diamondbacks employee, Jayne Powers, in the tunnel leading to the umpires' dressing room, when he and his crew noticed that she had fallen to the ground. Powers, who works in concessions, is a valued employee that has been with the Diamondbacks franchise since its inception. Steve Gilbert wrote about it, getting comments from Joyce himself and Diamondbacks employees.
Paramedics arrived shortly after Joyce began administering CPR, and had to utilize a defibrillator several times before Powers began breathing again. Powers was transferred to an ambulance twenty minutes later, and taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where she regained consciousness.
Russ Amaral, Vice President of Ballpark Operations for the Diamondbacks said, "The doctors have said if it wasn't for the first person who was on scene, and the fact that you had those AED's (Automatic External Defibrillators), there's a fairly decent chance this would not have turned out well."
Afterwards, Joyce was asked if he wanted to be replaced from working behind the plate, and instead work behind third, but he declined. "I didn't want to go to third base because just standing there; literally, [the incident] is all I would have thought about all night."
Joyce, who has been a big league umpire for 24 seasons, gained notoriety in 2010 when he missed a call at first base, preventing Detroit Tigers Armando Galarraga from recording a perfect game against the Cleveland Indians. He stood up and apologized for his mistake that day. "It was the biggest call of my career," said Joyce after that game. Jim Joyce needs no apologies for what he did to save a woman's life, which he can now proudly declare as the biggest call of his career.