Umpires - S/D

I wonder who they hire to play the game at Umpire School so the students can practice.

good question!

maybe ask here https://twitter.com/HWumpireschool

Ah, college and high school teams, according to their website. So, unpaid labor.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/incredulous-responses-to-bill-millers-strike-zone

damn i know it was bad but wtf why even have a strike zone ffs

imagine what the score would've been if he called those all correctly as balls

shit is pure vertiginous

Dale Scott has retired after 4 concussions in 5 years.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/MLB-ump-Dale-Scott-retires-rather-than-risk-more-12423444.php

Ex-MLB umpire Dale Scott downloads on 32 seasons behind the plate... and why Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are HOF’ers https://t.co/XIKiKTtyaT

— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) January 3, 2018

this is pretty good (plus dale scott was a top-40 dj in the late seventies and has the radio voice to prove it)

uploads, canzano, uploads! and even that is sort of wrong.

Michael Fulmer, after reviewing the video, told home plate ump Pat Hoberg that there were 10 pitches in the strike zone that he called a ball. Said Hoberg apologized. Fulmer said it was the worst strike zone he'd ever seen

— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) July 14, 2018

Sensitive umpire Laz Diaz turns baseball game into extended temper tantrum: https://t.co/cJpIGFgA71 pic.twitter.com/25SsdJrxGg

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 15, 2018

i'm surprised umps don't lose their cool like that more often, tbh

@Buster_ESPN
Didi Gregorius was safe; for a third time tonight, Angel Hernandez will have a call overturned.

wow, who could have guessed

he's fucking suing mlb?!

no idea who these people are, but

MLB's senior umpire, ALCS Crew Chief Joe West, fell one pitch shy of perfection in Game 3, correctly judging 159 of 160 callable pitches for a plate accuracy score of 99.4% as Boston's Red Sox defeated Houston's Astros. West's score sets a UEFL record, as this is the first time our system has ever tracked an umpire missing just one pitch during a postseason game.

https://www.closecallsports.com/2018/10/joe-west-sets-record-in-near-perfect.html?m=1

joe west is apparently joe westing

joe west in the field
west in the field
west in the field
west in the field
ong gone, long gone, long gone, long gone
joe west in the field

I get that Tanaka missed his spot and Sanchez didn’t do a great job framing this, but when the result is a ball right down the middle... https://t.co/7v4rRiiWrr

— Jon Tayler, Smiling Politely (@JATayler) June 5, 2019

gotta love this guy

Officiating is incompetent in all sports. Either he had something in his eyes or he has money on the outcome

— And with the 15th pick the Habs select... (@CJ_Casselman) June 5, 2019

when i think back to my childhood in the 70s and 80s it's stunning how much better umps are at calling balls and strikes now. you used to have umps who'd have "their zone", often low and an extra inch or two off the outside edge. pitchers would be rotated specifically for particular umps. just ridiculous.

another big difference from the baseball of my childhood, which i guess tangentially relates to umpiring, is how pretty much any contact of any kind - bat, dirt, plate - results in the catcher grabbing a fresh ball from the umpire. the decadence! the daintiness! where do all those barely-used balls go???

just realized there's probably a long read or five answering that last question

They are all sold for money duh

they're sent to Nigeria to be recycled, but instead get incinerated.

electronic balls/strikes officially starts tonight in the atlantic league: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/07/10/baseballs-robot-umpires-are-here-you-might-not-even-notice-difference/?utm_term=.22147a3229e8

stealing first!!!??

i don't condone this, but it's definitely funny

the umps really hate that banging on the dugout roof thing gardner does

It doesn't get worse than this.

Umpire Joe West blew 16 calls on the night, but none were worse or more significant than this one to Brett Gardner. It missed the zone by 5.23 inches. #Yankees v #BlueJays pic.twitter.com/lJfMyKh4is

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) September 21, 2019

joe west in the field

HEATED IN THE BRONX!

Yankees Manager Aaron Boone has been EJECTED from today's game for arguing balls and strikes with umpire Joe West.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/UekksepE2U

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) September 21, 2019

Michael Kay mentioned today that West's first ejections were Steve Henderson and Joe Torre (1977).

Jeff Passan, CC Sabathia, Jessica Mendoza: bring on the robots

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27947161/how-one-blown-strike-call-game-5-illustrates-mlb-need-robot-umps

New for the 2020 MLB season: Much like NFL referees have done for years, umpires will be mic’d up and tell fans in attendance and those watching on television and listening on radio if reviewed calls are upheld or overturned. They may also explain rules, if necessary.

— Pedro Gomez (@pedrogomezESPN) January 27, 2020

"that call i just obviously fucked up is not reviewable. please stop throwing beer bottles at me"

that took long enough

crew chief gary cederstrom has retired after 31 years

nic lentz has been hired full-time; you may remember him as the subject of aaron boone's 'savages' rant last year

kerwin danley is the first african american crew chief

For you umpiring nerds:

Ryan Blakney, Ramon De Jesus, Nic Lentz, Chris Segal and Jansen Visconti are now full-time umpires.

Gary Cederstrom, Dana DeMuth, Mike Everitt and Jeff Kellogg are retiring.

Kerwin Danley, Dan Iassogna, Alfonso Marquez and Jim Reynolds are crew chiefs.

— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) February 27, 2020

Pitch framing in 1884: pic.twitter.com/aBmr3bJ9AQ

— David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) April 10, 2020

MLB considers Joe West a high-risk individual. He plans to return for this season despite that.

"I don’t believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus." https://t.co/PuWfDq1OQC

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) July 7, 2020

man joe west, fuck you

as always, he's the star

MAS QUE UN CLUB

MAS QUE BEISBOL

I just read that piece.

Fuck Joe West. Fucking waddling, ignorant Florida man.

wut pic.twitter.com/fZ1xGZeKQm

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 22, 2020

what is happening

E1 🚨 🚨 🚨

Most bizarre “error” of the year pic.twitter.com/oFB81HNMkl

— MLB Errors (@mlberrors) April 28, 2021

ANDREW MCCUTCHEN WAS RULED OUT OF THE BASE PATH ON THIS WHAT ARE THE UMPS WATCHING??? pic.twitter.com/YdM1FuS4L9

— Ben Porter (@Ben13Porter) May 2, 2021

lol yankees

Full count, two outs, bottom of the 9th, winning run on third, and umpire Gabe Morales blows a huge call to send the game to extras.

This called strikeout to Rougned Odor missed outside by 4.55 inches.

The Yankees lost in extra innings.#Yankees #RedSox pic.twitter.com/8sj43qLBiw

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) June 7, 2021

Umpire Angel Hernandez was the lowest rated umpire on the day, missing 19 calls for a correct percentage of 85.3%.

He rang up 6 batters on pitches that were outside the zone and called a strike to Jean Segura that missed inside by a season high 6.47 inches.#Brewers #Phillies pic.twitter.com/pmmt1ELJJ6

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) April 25, 2022

That Segura call, good god.

haven't they implemented the robo-strike zone in some minor leagues? i'm curious about what it tends to do to league-wide offense, both in the short term (first few weeks as everyone adjusts) and more long term

also, as i think mookie and others have pointed out, what it does with the value of catchers, particularly those who specialize in pitch-framing

i knew exactly what inspired this revive the second i saw it!

i don't particularly like bumgarner, but this is straight bullshit from dan bellino

The difference between MadBum's and Hernandez's hand checks is striking. pic.twitter.com/CRPOuRXBUE

— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) May 4, 2022