Umpires
 

Question for those of you who watch baseball on a fairly regular basis. Are umpires as bad as I think on balls and strikes? Based on Pitchcast or Pitch Trax they get the close ones wrong as often as they get them right. I'm talking about pitches that are on the line or near the line high or low or inside or outside.
An example from today's Cubs/Braves game. With Atlanta batting and the count 3 and 2 on the batter, the Cub's pitcher threw a pitch which registered almost entirely (90%) in the lower right hand corner of the Pitchcast box. It was called ball four. The very next inning with the Cubs at bat, the Atlanta pitcher threw a pitch which was completely low and outside the lower right hand corner of the Pitchcast box. It was strike three.

Sometimes a pitch will be called a ball and the next pitch which is superimposed on the first is called a strike. One of those is wrong.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the Umps are biased against the Cubs. Their mistakes hurt both teams. I gave the example above because it is the Cubs that I watch, but I am certain every team is affected.

The ones I have problems with are the ones in the batters box on the other side of the plate. I umpired and played for years and all I ever asked when I played was be consistent, and I don't think they are anymore.

I watched one inning last night of the Orioles and saw two very questionable calls on balls and strikes in just one half inning. Luckily it was early in game and not game changing YET. Having umpired fast pitch softball, it's difficult to get them all correct on too high or too low when borderline. I think the young fans of today would be okay with some technology being used on b/s's. Maybe in another 50 years before the traditionalists give the okay. Color of the cleats is more important at the moment.

I think some are better than others but too many umps have their own specific strike zone. I do think umpires do a good job on plays at the bases and home plate, but could easily be replaced by Questec for ball/strike calls.

The home-plate umpire of today's Cubs/Braves game was one of the worst that I've ever seen. But he screwed both teams equally...IMO. He was at his worse in the Cubs' 9th...when the Braves' A.J. Minter was trying to close the game out.

If you can find the full version of this it is worth a watch for sure:


More on the story:

http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/...105378146.html

Considering the pitch speed and ball movement in MLB, I think the umpires overall do okay. Your opinion (and the player's) often hinges on who's batting or pitching. If a player plays a few years it would seem the calls both good and bad would even out. Also, being a high school or little league umpire is far removed from 90+ mph cut fastballs. Decision making is almost instantaneous.

I agree MLB umpires are very competent for the most part, but watch the Little League World Series sometime. The kid who grew faster than everybody else is throwing 60 MPH from only 46 feet with a curve and a change-up too.

If you want to watch really crappy officials, watch the NBA. You'd be lucky to see them call 5% of the traveling violations. If you never watched basketball and you watched a game on TV, you still wouldn't know what the officials think are fouls and which aren't.