After graduating from
Bowling Green State University in 1977, he umpired in the
Midwest League (1978–1979), the Florida Instructional League (1978), the
Texas League (1980), the
Pacific Coast League (1981–1986, 1988), the
International League (1987), and the
Dominican League (1983). In 1989, Joyce was promoted from the Pacific Coast League to the American League upon the death of MLB umpire
Nick Bremigan. Joyce umpired in the
All-Star Game (
1994,
2001, and
2012), the
Division Series (
1995,
1998,
1999,
2001,
2002,
2003,
2008,
2009,
2012, and
2013), the
League Championship Series (
1997,
2004,
2006, and
2007), and the
World Series (
1999,
2001, and
2013).
ESPN The Magazine released an anonymous poll of 100 current MLB players that voted Joyce the best overall umpire in baseball. For the
2012 season, Joyce served as an interim crew chief due to the absence of the injured
John Hirschbeck. On August 20, 2012, Joyce saved the life of an
Arizona Diamondbacks employee by administering
CPR to the woman who was in
cardiac arrest at
Chase Field. He retired on January 16, 2017.
Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game On June 2, 2010, Joyce made an incorrect call, as the first base umpire, which cost
Armando Galarraga a
perfect game. Joyce tearfully spoke with the media following the game and admitted he made a mistake: "I just cost the kid a perfect game." Joyce and Galarraga received praise throughout the sports world for the manner in which they handled the situation; reflecting an earlier ESPN poll, players such as
Mariano Rivera spoke on the record about Joyce's superb career of umpiring. Joyce had been the second-base umpire for
Dallas Braden's perfect game on May 9, 2010, less than a month before the Galarraga game. He was also the first base umpire for the
no-hitter pitched by
Carlos Zambrano on September 14, 2008. In 2011, Joyce, Galarraga, and author
Daniel Paisner collaborated on a book based on the game, ''Nobody's Perfect: Two Men, One Call, and a Game for Baseball History''. Following the book's release, to avoid any appearance of impropriety due to their business relationship, MLB did not allow Joyce to work any games in which Galarraga would be playing.
Other notable games In September 1996, Joyce restrained fellow umpire
John Hirschbeck when Hirschbeck angrily charged into the
Baltimore Orioles clubhouse to confront
Roberto Alomar. The day before the confrontation, Alomar had made comments about how Hirschbeck's attitude changed following the death of his son. Working third base during Game 3 of the
2013 World Series, Joyce determined
Allen Craig of the
St. Louis Cardinals had been
obstructed when
Boston Red Sox infielder
Will Middlebrooks went diving after an errant throw by catcher
Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Craig was then awarded the winning run when home plate umpire
Dana DeMuth enforced the obstruction called by Joyce. This is the only case of a World Series game ending on an obstruction call. ==Personal life==