2017 Ump Show

[Thunder]

As an umpire myself, I was raised to always remain invisible. If we did blow a call, and knew it (not sure if this is the case with Kulpa), we have an obligation to let the coaches yell at us for a little bit, as long as they don't cuss or say anything that crosses a line.

[Kimmi]

Kulpa is umpiring the Sox/DBacks series.

[mvp 78]

Kulpa is umpiring the Sox/DBacks series.

 

Ffffffff

[Northern Star]

Another reason to hate umpires.

 

https://deadspin.com/fans-lustily-boo-umpire-who-did-finn-the-bat-dogs-job-f-1833948666

[mvp 78]

Another reason to hate umpires.

 

https://deadspin.com/fans-lustily-boo-umpire-who-did-finn-the-bat-dogs-job-f-1833948666

 

I saw that this AM. What a monster! Leave Finn alone!

[mvp 78]

https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1136294807133990912

 

Angel Hernandez is still umpiring MLB games in the Year of Our Papi 2019.

[mvp 78]

https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/1136066037059919874

 

Video showing the pitch in question.

[S5Dewey]

Not really pertinent to MLB umps, but I thought this was worth sharing. It was written by a HS ump who was working a tournament recently.

 

 

From behind my mask, I can observe quirks and eccentricities that make baseball and the people who play it so interesting. This weekend’s games involved teams from three different states, so I got a glimpse of the subtle ways the game is played differently in each state, along with some unique personal and collective rituals.

 

The members of one team would stop and pat the top of their heads twice with their throwing hands whenever the top of the other team’s order came up to bat. That was charming and innocuous compared to the “rally zipper” ritual adopted by a team in a different game.

 

Most casual baseball fans are probably familiar with the “rally cap” scenario in which players on a team that’s trailing turn their caps inside out or backward in an effort to change their luck. In the rally zipper scenario, the team was leading by five runs but decided that to clinch the victory, the players would all unzip their flies as they took the field for the last inning. Teenage boys will be teenage boys.

 

They promptly gave up eight runs and lost. Until they started frittering away the lead, their coach seemed all in on the concept. By the time they started rethinking it, the proverbial cart was out of the barn.

 

As an umpire, I did briefly wonder if I should intervene. But while the baseball rule book is very clear on what constitutes an infield fly, it does not expressly address the question of whether flies should be zipped. I suppose the situation might have bumped up against the “making a travesty of the game” dictum, but the level of play during the previous six innings had already firmly established that we had all been participating in a travesty long before the floodgates opened.

 

And BTW, I like the idea of players patting the top of their heads when the leadoff hitter comes to bat. I shows that they're in the game and warns everyone else on the team that the (allegedly) best hitters on the team are coming to bat.

[Kimmi]

Not really pertinent to MLB umps, but I thought this was worth sharing. It was written by a HS ump who was working a tournament recently.

 

 

From behind my mask, I can observe quirks and eccentricities that make baseball and the people who play it so interesting. This weekend’s games involved teams from three different states, so I got a glimpse of the subtle ways the game is played differently in each state, along with some unique personal and collective rituals.

 

The members of one team would stop and pat the top of their heads twice with their throwing hands whenever the top of the other team’s order came up to bat. That was charming and innocuous compared to the “rally zipper” ritual adopted by a team in a different game.

 

Most casual baseball fans are probably familiar with the “rally cap” scenario in which players on a team that’s trailing turn their caps inside out or backward in an effort to change their luck. In the rally zipper scenario, the team was leading by five runs but decided that to clinch the victory, the players would all unzip their flies as they took the field for the last inning. Teenage boys will be teenage boys.

 

They promptly gave up eight runs and lost. Until they started frittering away the lead, their coach seemed all in on the concept. By the time they started rethinking it, the proverbial cart was out of the barn.

 

As an umpire, I did briefly wonder if I should intervene. But while the baseball rule book is very clear on what constitutes an infield fly, it does not expressly address the question of whether flies should be zipped. I suppose the situation might have bumped up against the “making a travesty of the game” dictum, but the level of play during the previous six innings had already firmly established that we had all been participating in a travesty long before the floodgates opened.

 

And BTW, I like the idea of players patting the top of their heads when the leadoff hitter comes to bat. I shows that they're in the game and warns everyone else on the team that the (allegedly) best hitters on the team are coming to bat.

 

Good stuff. Personally, I think the ump should have intervened on the fly thing, but that might just be me. Either way, it's rather funny that the team promptly gave up 8 runs and lost.

[Bellhorn04]

I've never been more in favor of robot umps than I am after today's balls and strikes horror show.

[Kimmi]

I've never been more in favor of robot umps than I am after today's balls and strikes horror show.

 

Despite the horror show, I am still not in favor of robot umps. I don't think I can ever get on board with the idea.

[dgalehouse]

Umpires make mistakes just like players and managers do . It is all part of the game .

[Bellhorn04]

Umpires make mistakes just like players and managers do . It is all part of the game .

 

Balls and strikes mistakes can easily be abolished. It's coming. A lot of folks won't like it, and I get that, but it's inevitable.

[jacksonianmarch]

As long as you have un-fireable umps like West and Hernandez, you need to consider your options. Their strikes zones are so terrible that robot umps would help. Estabrook yesterday was abysmal as well. The problem with the robot umps is that the home plate ump can override the call by their own judgement. I doubt Joe or Angel allow any technology to make their call

[jacksonianmarch]

You wanna see a horrible call?

 

Look at the "check swing" on DJ Lemahieu on a 3-2 count. Leadoff walk instead of K. Guess who the ump was, you get two

[mvp 78]

Balls and strikes mistakes can easily be abolished. It's coming. A lot of folks won't like it, and I get that, but it's inevitable.

 

@UmpireAuditor

"It's been a big plate all weekend. That was really big. Like a plate and a half" -@NESN announcers

 

Yesterday, Umpire Bruce Dreckman called a strike on this pitch to Xander Bogaerts that missed outside by 4.43 inches.

[Kimmi]

@UmpireAuditor

"It's been a big plate all weekend. That was really big. Like a plate and a half" -@NESN announcers

 

Yesterday, Umpire Bruce Dreckman called a strike on this pitch to Xander Bogaerts that missed outside by 4.43 inches.

 

Somebody, I think it was Joe Posnanski, had an interesting suggestion. If the pitch is an obvious ball or strike, like the one mentioned above, it would be relayed to the umpire electronically, so that there would be no egregious calls. Umpires would still be on their own when it comes to borderline calls.

 

That might seem somewhat counterintuitive, but I like the suggestion.

[dgalehouse]

It's only a game. Not life and death. Part of the fun is screaming " Kill the ump." " Are you blind , Blue ? " " Get new glasses." Etc. And watching a Billy Martin kick dirt and yell at the ump until he was ejected. Remy and O'Brien don't help with their constant complaining about the strike zone. Use the robots to vacuum the dugout and clubhouse, not to call balls and strikes. If an umpire is clearly incompetent, he should be demoted to AAA. Try to relax and enjoy the games .

[mvp 78]

Somebody, I think it was Joe Posnanski, had an interesting suggestion. If the pitch is an obvious ball or strike, like the one mentioned above, it would be relayed to the umpire electronically, so that there would be no egregious calls. Umpires would still be on their own when it comes to borderline calls.

 

That might seem somewhat counterintuitive, but I like the suggestion.

 

It's a start.

[mvp 78]

It's only a game. Not life and death. Part of the fun is screaming " Kill the ump." " Are you blind , Blue ? " " Get new glasses." Etc. And watching a Billy Martin kick dirt and yell at the ump until he was ejected. Remy and O'Brien don't help with their constant complaining about the strike zone. Use the robots to vacuum the dugout and clubhouse, not to call balls and strikes. If an umpire is clearly incompetent, he should be demoted to AAA. Try to relax and enjoy the games .

 

No, that is not fun. Also, I'm not sure they can demote an ump since they are union.

[mvp 78]

Just fire this guy:

 

@UmpireAuditor

Yesterday, Umpire Angel Hernandez was responsible for the worst called game of the season so far. He missed 24 calls with a correct call percentage of only 83.2%.

[mvp 78]

And this guy:

 

@UmpireAuditor

Ted Barrett ended the night with 23 missed calls. In the two games he's covered this season, he's missed a total of 46 calls, the most in the league.

[mvp 78]

I still contend that the biggest problem is umpires missing the outside part of the plate. To me, that's an equipment issue. If they had the equipment from back in the 80's, they could stand directly behind the catcher and see the outside of the plate. Currently, they set up to the side (do to their reduced equipment) and can't see the outside part of the plate.

[mvp 78]

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-walk-off-letdown/

 

Ron Kulpa has actually already conceded that he should have called Conforto out on strikes.

[Kimmi]

It's only a game. Not life and death. Part of the fun is screaming " Kill the ump." " Are you blind , Blue ? " " Get new glasses." Etc. And watching a Billy Martin kick dirt and yell at the ump until he was ejected. Remy and O'Brien don't help with their constant complaining about the strike zone. Use the robots to vacuum the dugout and clubhouse, not to call balls and strikes. If an umpire is clearly incompetent, he should be demoted to AAA. Try to relax and enjoy the games .

 

100%

 

No to robot umps.

[Kimmi]

It's a start.

 

It's a compromise that would at least be better than having all balls and strikes called electronically.

[Kimmi]

I still contend that the biggest problem is umpires missing the outside part of the plate. To me, that's an equipment issue. If they had the equipment from back in the 80's, they could stand directly behind the catcher and see the outside of the plate. Currently, they set up to the side (do to their reduced equipment) and can't see the outside part of the plate.

 

Back in the 80s, they didn't have Statcast and all the various versions of K-Zone. I wonder how the accuracy of balls and strikes calls back then, with the outside chest protectors, compares with the accuracy these days.

[mvp 78]

Back in the 80s, they didn't have Statcast and all the various versions of K-Zone. I wonder how the accuracy of balls and strikes calls back then, with the outside chest protectors, compares with the accuracy these days.

 

No idea, but I can see how today's umpire positioning really hinders their calls on the outside of the plate.

[Kimmi]

No idea, but I can see how today's umpire positioning really hinders their calls on the outside of the plate.

 

I can agree with that. They should bring back the old equipment and see if it helps.