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%.
How the hell does this guy still have a job?
There are few things 100% of baseball fans agree on
But one of them is Angel Hernandez is an awful umpire. Check out the social media for fans of any team when he’s behind the plate, you see the exact same sentiments. He sucks
That 24 missed calls how was that determined? MLB and Brooksbaseball don't adjust for each batter (Judge and Altuve have radically different strike zone measurements). Also, there is a one inch margin of error in MLB's system and they display the center of the ball. The center of the ball could be off the plate but the outer edge nick a corner. That is not to say that Angel Hernandez had a strong night but if you have a link would like to see.
One thing I'll never understand is how baseball umps are untouchable
That 24 missed calls how was that determined? MLB and Brooksbaseball don't adjust for each batter (Judge and Altuve have radically different strike zone measurements). Also, there is a one inch margin of error in MLB's system and they display the center of the ball. The center of the ball could be off the plate but the outer edge nick a corner. That is not to say that Angel Hernandez had a strong night but if you have a link would like to see.
That 24 missed calls how was that determined? MLB and Brooksbaseball don't adjust for each batter (Judge and Altuve have radically different strike zone measurements). Also, there is a one inch margin of error in MLB's system and they display the center of the ball. The center of the ball could be off the plate but the outer edge nick a corner. That is not to say that Angel Hernandez had a strong night but if you have a link would like to see.
Link - ( New Window )
Since they are using a solid box strike zone some of high balls may have been correct calls if batter was shorter
But does baseball run the electronic strike zone in parallel with the umpires now? In other words did they determine this guy's misses by just checking him against what a computer would have called?
IS being right 92% of the time good? I saw a graphic for one set of umpires where the accuracy for the game was about 90% and consistency was about 99%. So, is it a positive to be consistently wrong or does the consistency actually make up for the inaccuracy (players adjust, etc) and make it acceptable?
On a totally different subject, I wanted my first major league extra innings game this year. I don't think that I really care for the man on second to start the inning format.
IS being right 92% of the time good? I saw a graphic for one set of umpires where the accuracy for the game was about 90% and consistency was about 99%. So, is it a positive to be consistently wrong or does the consistency actually make up for the inaccuracy (players adjust, etc) and make it acceptable?
On a totally different subject, I wanted my first major league extra innings game this year. I don't think that I really care for the man on second to start the inning format.
If you look at playoff caliber umpires, the minimum you like to see is 90% if no margin of error is factored in, but more importantly is 94% with a 1" MOE. That can only be measured off of the actual strike zone on each pitch becuse Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge don't have the same strike zone dimensions. Umpire Auditor, Brooksbaseball, etc. use static strike zones. That can tell you horizontally if a pitch was a strike but it is useless for vertical purposes.
Every baseball game on TV has the strike zone superimposed. Why not just go all the way and make balls and strikes computer calls? Makes no sense - especially if you’re watching on TV.
Every baseball game on TV has the strike zone superimposed. Why not just go all the way and make balls and strikes computer calls? Makes no sense - especially if you’re watching on TV.
Because the tech is not there yet. This is especially true when bunting or measuring borderline pitches high and low. There is also some MOE with any tracking software. What bothers me are pitches off the corner called strikes because that is clear as day. Beyond that my biggest issue is consistency. If you have a bad miss that does not mean you should call everything from then on badly, but players should be able to count on what is and is not a strike in a particular game.
Every baseball game on TV has the strike zone superimposed. Why not just go all the way and make balls and strikes computer calls? Makes no sense - especially if you’re watching on TV.
Because the tech is not there yet. This is especially true when bunting or measuring borderline pitches high and low. There is also some MOE with any tracking software. What bothers me are pitches off the corner called strikes because that is clear as day. Beyond that my biggest issue is consistency. If you have a bad miss that does not mean you should call everything from then on badly, but players should be able to count on what is and is not a strike in a particular game.
The 84.2% number (123/146 called correctly) is based upon using the numbers for the center of the baseball compared to the strike zone. If you give the equivalent of the radius of a baseball around the strike zone because the center of a ball could be outside of the strike zone but still graze the strike zone with the edge of the baseball, Hernandez's number increases to 89.7% (131/146 called correctly). I am trying to see if that includes the MOE that MLB factors into their plate scores. Whether it includes MOE would depend on whether that 89.7% would be classified as slightly below playoff plate minimum or atrocious.
The 84.2% number (123/146 called correctly) is based upon using the numbers for the center of the baseball compared to the strike zone. If you give the equivalent of the radius of a baseball around the strike zone because the center of a ball could be outside of the strike zone but still graze the strike zone with the edge of the baseball, Hernandez's number increases to 89.7% (131/146 called correctly). I am trying to see if that includes the MOE that MLB factors into their plate scores. Whether it includes MOE would depend on whether that 89.7% would be classified as slightly below playoff plate minimum or atrocious.
Interesting stuff. I think what stood out to me about the video of Hernandez's game yesterday is how many outside corner pitches he missed...strikes being balls, balls being strikes. That's where we hope an umpire will be consistent...if he's giving an extra couple inches off the plate, fine, just call it both ways the whole game.
I'm curious to see what the results are from the testing being done in the minors this year. If memory serves they're using ABS (Automatic Ball/Strike) system in one of the Class A leagues, which will start in May. They're going to measure all players before games to level set the high/low of their strike zone, to try and eliminate the variability of size between batters.
Brian O'Nora got popped for prostitution and he's still working. Why is it allowed?
Link - ( New Window )
Quote:
That 24 missed calls how was that determined? MLB and Brooksbaseball don't adjust for each batter (Judge and Altuve have radically different strike zone measurements). Also, there is a one inch margin of error in MLB's system and they display the center of the ball. The center of the ball could be off the plate but the outer edge nick a corner. That is not to say that Angel Hernandez had a strong night but if you have a link would like to see.
Link - ( New Window )
Since they are using a solid box strike zone some of high balls may have been correct calls if batter was shorter
And there’s no consistency...several pitches on the corner are balls, several off the corner are strikes.
On a totally different subject, I wanted my first major league extra innings game this year. I don't think that I really care for the man on second to start the inning format.
On a totally different subject, I wanted my first major league extra innings game this year. I don't think that I really care for the man on second to start the inning format.
If you look at playoff caliber umpires, the minimum you like to see is 90% if no margin of error is factored in, but more importantly is 94% with a 1" MOE. That can only be measured off of the actual strike zone on each pitch becuse Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge don't have the same strike zone dimensions. Umpire Auditor, Brooksbaseball, etc. use static strike zones. That can tell you horizontally if a pitch was a strike but it is useless for vertical purposes.
Because the tech is not there yet. This is especially true when bunting or measuring borderline pitches high and low. There is also some MOE with any tracking software. What bothers me are pitches off the corner called strikes because that is clear as day. Beyond that my biggest issue is consistency. If you have a bad miss that does not mean you should call everything from then on badly, but players should be able to count on what is and is not a strike in a particular game.
Because the tech is not there yet. This is especially true when bunting or measuring borderline pitches high and low. There is also some MOE with any tracking software. What bothers me are pitches off the corner called strikes because that is clear as day. Beyond that my biggest issue is consistency. If you have a bad miss that does not mean you should call everything from then on badly, but players should be able to count on what is and is not a strike in a particular game.
Interesting stuff. I think what stood out to me about the video of Hernandez's game yesterday is how many outside corner pitches he missed...strikes being balls, balls being strikes. That's where we hope an umpire will be consistent...if he's giving an extra couple inches off the plate, fine, just call it both ways the whole game.
I'm curious to see what the results are from the testing being done in the minors this year. If memory serves they're using ABS (Automatic Ball/Strike) system in one of the Class A leagues, which will start in May. They're going to measure all players before games to level set the high/low of their strike zone, to try and eliminate the variability of size between batters.