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San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday's ball-strike calls in Giants game are why robo umps can't get here soon enough
I never thought I'd be the guy crying out for more technology, but enough human error is enough. Sunday afternoon, the San Francisco Giants got fed up with the ball-strike stylings of umpire Chad Whitson, leading to an ejection. Dave Flemming, calling the game on TV for Roku, sounded like he was ready to charge home plate to confront Whitson. The reason why? Whitson was interpreting the strike zone the way Picasso interpreted the human form. Just another day at the ballpark. Inconsistent ball-strike calling is a plague on Major League Baseball, an increasingly glaring defect of the game. Next season will be better, right? The rumble is that MLB will bring in the robo ump, also known as ABS, the Automated Ball-Strike System. Each team will get two challenges per game, appealing to the robot when frustrated by perceived human error. Two? Just two? So they're going to slap a band-aid on a shark bite. Let me tell you what should happen. But first: The Giants did not lose Sunday because of Whitson. According to Umpire Scorecards, 11 of Whitson's 51 called strikes were true balls. The Giants lost by two runs, and that website's analytics say that Whitson's errant eye made a 1.69 run difference. So if Whitson had had a perfect day, the Giants might have lost anyway, because nobody scores by the hundredths of a run in baseball. Still, Whitson was a party pooper. He punched out Rafael Devers on a 3-2 pitch outside the zone. A 3-0 pitch to Matt Chapman was two baseballs outside the zone, but called a strike. 'That was a very generous call,' Flemming fumed. 'What a weird strike zone today.' Same deal next inning, with Brett Wisely at bat. Flemming: 'Very friendly call (in the pitcher's favor), Wisely didn't like that one. Just another example of a strike zone that has been all over the place. When you're seeing the ball well, you see a pitch, you know it's out of the strike zone, yet it's called against you, that's not really that close, it jars you as a hitter.' Apparently it also jars you as a pitcher who isn't pitching. Future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander, on a day off, got tossed by Whitson for protesting from the dugout. Verlander was getting his info off a tablet, which displayed, in delayed time, the umpire's (many) goofs. So a guy sitting in the dugout, and everyone in the park with a cell phone, had access to technology unavailable to the ump. The thing is, Whitson called an OK game, for a human being. In a study conducted by Boston University and published in 2018, data showed that big league umpires blew 14 ball-strike calls per game, or 1.6 per inning. Whitson on Sunday had a 92% accuracy on ball-strike calls (per Umpire Scorecards). If you protest that the coming of the robo ump deprives baseball of a cool human element, tell me you'll smile and embrace it as a colorful part of life when Amazon delivers your package to the correct address 92% of the time. You got someone else's underwear? Makes life more fun! The challenge system next season will be wildly popular with players and fans, although maybe not with umps. To challenge a call, the batter or pitcher simply taps his helmet or cap. Within a few seconds, almost instantly, the verdict is rendered on the ballpark video screen. I believe that MLB will fast-track ABS for next season, because Rob Manfred and the boys have seen that most fans and players embrace positive change. The pitch clock has been a big success. Even though batters no longer have time to re-Velcro their batting-glove straps after every pitch, miraculously, not one single glove has flown off! Surely that's a sign from above. Do you miss the defensive shift? The ghost runner in extra innings isn't universally beloved, but it also hasn't ruined the game. Point is, MLB now knows that the change can be beneficial and widely accepted, if it improves the game. The ABS system has been tried in the minors, to widespread acclaim of players and fans. The problem with the two-challenge system, though, is that it's like ordering popcorn at the movie theater and they give you two popped kernels. Since we know there will be 1.6 blown calls per inning, how about one challenge per inning, per team? This would add, by my amateurish calculations, about 15 minutes to each game. Time well spent. At the very least, give each team a bonus challenge in the ninth inning, and in every extra inning. The BU study found that in that 2018 season, 55 games ended on incorrect calls. The study also found that umps have a dramatic bias toward pitchers on two-strike calls, that umps have blind spots in their strike zones, and that younger umps outperform older and more experienced umps. In short, human umpires are just too damn human. The two-challenge system will be a success, and it will be expanded, and eventually every pitch will be called by the robot. Real people will still do the pitching and hitting, and isn't that mainly what you came to the ballpark to see? This is not to say home-plate umpires can be entirely replaced. After all, you can't trust a ballboy to do a proper job of whisking dirt off the plate.
New York Post
13-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Umpire's heated reply caught on hot mic after getting ripped by Mets: ‘I'm not a magician'
MLB umpires are not perfect. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza was reminded of that in humorous fashion by umpire Chad Whitson. During the ninth inning of Thursday afternoon's Mets win over the Nationals, the game was getting close as closer Edwin Diaz initially struggled to get Washington hitters out, which included issuing a walk to first baseman Nathaniel Lowe to load the bases with nobody out. Advertisement Mendoza did not like the final ball call and decided to say something to Whitson. 3 MLB Umpire Chad Whitson yelling at manager Carlos Mendoza. SNY While viewers could not hear what Mendoza said, Whiston's words were picked up by SNY's microphones. Advertisement 'I can't make 'em up!' Whiston shouted. 'I'm not a magician!' 3 New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza reacts in the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on June 5, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Getty Images Whiston might have been right, as the pitch did look a little below the strike zone. Advertisement Even after a short hiccup, Diaz was able to shut down the Nationals and complete the series sweep in a 4-3 victory. According to the Umpire Scorecards account on X, Whitson might have unintentionally called his game in favor of the Mets. The report card said his 'overall favor' gave the Mets 1.29 runs. Advertisement While magic cannot make balls into strikes, there might still be some magical energy in the Mets' clubhouse. The team is on a roll, having won six straight games heading into Friday's game against the Rays. During this run, the Mets have had a complete game shutout thrown by David Peterson, an on-fire Brandon Nimmo, Juan Soto and Jeff McNeil, and some great defensive plays from Tyrone Taylor. 3 David Peterson moments after throwing a shutout earlier this week. Getty Images The red-hot Mets open a three-game series against the Rays on Friday night at Citi Field.
USA Today
01-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Umpire Nic Lentz had MLB fans in awe after he called a perfect game behind the plate in Royals-Rays
Umpire Nic Lentz had MLB fans in awe after he called a perfect game behind the plate in Royals-Rays This past spring training, MLB experimented with any automated strike zone (ABS) challenge system for a majority of Cactus and Grapefruit League games. But even under that system, the challenges were limited. Teams were unlikely to get a perfectly called game. On Wednesday, though, the Royals and Rays got to experience what it would be like to play under a full ABS system because umpire Nic Lentz was basically a robot for a night. That's right — he called a perfect game. For just the third time since Umpire Scorecards began tracking balls and strikes in 2015, there was a perfectly called game with Lentz accurately calling all 129 taken pitches. The other two perfect games were called by now-fired Pat Hoberg in the 2022 World Series and Mark Ripperger on April 10 (also a Royals game). Just think: Every game could be like this if MLB went with a full ABS system. Still, it was incredibly impressive, and MLB fans gave Lentz high praise for the legendary night behind the plate. This was how Twitter/X reacted Take a bow, Blue!
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Sliders: For MLB umpire Mark Ripperger, a ‘very good' game turned out to be perfect
Welcome to Sliders, a weekly in-season MLB column that focuses on both the timely and timeless elements of baseball. Mark Ripperger had played two years of high school baseball in Escondido, Calif., when he decided, as most 16-year-olds do, that he'd like to make some money. His parents and friends suggested he find a job in a field he loved, and the field he loved was baseball. Advertisement He thought about umpiring Little League games, but instead hooked up with a high school umpires association, taking assignments far from home to avoid any conflicts of interest. After graduating, when Ripperger was allowed to work games at his alma mater, Escondido High School, objectivity came naturally. 'I'll tell you, that kind of comes out of you immediately,' he said, 'especially if you go into this and you want to do well.' Last Thursday in Kansas City, Ripperger did the job as well as it can possibly be done: He worked a perfect game behind the plate. The Umpire Scorecards website, which uses MLB data from Baseball Savant to track umpires' accuracy, reported that the Royals and Twins took 136 pitches that day, and Ripperger called all of them correctly. Umpire: Mark RippergerFinal: Twins 2, Royals 3#MNTwins // #FountainsUp#MINvsKC // #KCvsMIN More stats for this ump 👇 — Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) April 11, 2025 Ripperger, a full-time umpire since 2015, did not realize at the time that he'd done a flawless job. 'There are times when I walk off the field and I don't feel like I was very good that day, and I ended up being very good,' he said. 'And there are days when I walk off thinking that I just nailed it, and I wasn't as good as I thought. So, no, not during that Thursday did I feel that way. I was certainly not expecting this sort of outcome when I walked off the field. I felt very good about my performance, very good about my game. But I certainly didn't think it was that.' The perfect game is an unofficial feat — Umpire Scorecards is not affiliated with MLB — but Ripperger's stands as just the second in the 11 years of Statcast data. The other was by Pat Hoberg in Game 2 of the 2022 World Series in Houston. Hoberg, who has since been fired for violating MLB's gambling rules, declined an interview request during that World Series. Ripperger, too, was initially reluctant to talk about his achievement. Umpires almost always prefer to stay in the background. Advertisement But they are also proud of their profession and aware of the criticism that comes with it. The perfect game was a chance to commemorate a job well done. 'I kind of like to just fly under the radar — do my job the best I can and not really be in the spotlight,' Ripperger said. 'That's for the players. I know that our successes are not celebrated very much, whatever they are, and our blunders make us look not in a great light, I guess. I'm flattered about all this stuff, but at the same time, I'm just one of 76, and all those guys have great games as well.' Even so, Umpire Scorecards ranks Ripperger among the best. Of the 75 umpires who had worked the plate at least three times through Wednesday, he ranked third in accuracy at 95.93 percent, trailing only Derek Thomas (97.24) and Will Little (95.96). Ripperger, 44, felt an instant, indefinable connection with umpiring. His first instructor — while he was still in high school — was Mike Winters, a major-league ump from 1988 to 2019, and he bonded with amateur umpires who took the job seriously. 'We had weekly meetings, and after the meetings I would go to a restaurant and hang out with them,' Ripperger said. 'They'd go have a drink and I'd sit there with them at the restaurant and drink my water — or Pepsi or Coke or whatever — and listen to their stories. And I just fell in love with the job.' It's a steep climb to the few MLB jobs available, and Ripperger — who started professionally in 2003 — worked for years in the Arizona Rookie League, the Northwest League, the Midwest League, the California League, the Eastern League, the Hawaii Winter League, the Venezuelan Winter League and the Pacific Coast League. He made his MLB debut in 2010, five years before his full-time promotion. His fraternity strives for perfection while understanding it will (almost) always elude them. Advertisement 'We are trying to get everything right, and sometimes we don't — but it's not for lack of effort,' Ripperger said. 'We have an incredibly hard job and we know it's thankless, we really do. We know many people don't care for us. 'But the one thing I hear a lot is that we aren't held accountable. That kind of bothers me sometimes, because we are held accountable, mostly by ourselves. We hold ourselves accountable for the job that we do, but then we also have supervisors and Major League Baseball that tell us how we can be better and (how to) help us, and they hold us accountable as well. We are very dedicated to this job and we love it and we do our best to get everything right, knowing that we always won't.' Baseball tested the automated ball-strike challenge system in spring training and could implement it in official games next season. That possibility, Ripperger said, does not impact the way he calls a game. The notion that umpires tailor their strike zones to personal preferences, he added, is a myth. 'I don't see that from anybody, and I don't believe anyone has that mindset,' he said. 'I believe everyone is trying to get everything right that they possibly can with the zone that's written in the rulebook.' Umpires are graded each game for accuracy on ball-strike calls, safe-out calls, and so on. MLB considers those grades for postseason assignments, while also seeking a balance of veteran and less-experienced umpires for each crew. That way, younger umpires can be ready for future leadership roles. As nice as it is to get a laudatory social media post from an independent grader, it's not what an umpire dreams about. Ripperger worked his first World Series last fall, and had the plate for the final game of the season at Yankee Stadium. 'I relished that opportunity and wanted that opportunity since I started this — kind of like the player that wants to hit the home run like Freddie Freeman did in Game 1, the grand slam to win the game,' he said. 'This was what I envisioned, working the World Series — albeit Game 7 instead of Game 5, but it was still the clinching game, just doing it — and I did it. It was unbelievable, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.' On Tuesday at Citi Field, Howie Karpin will work his 1,500th game as official scorer. In that role, he keeps a precise accounting of each game, with daily decisions on hits or errors, wild pitches or passed balls and so on. He also announces and documents the many oddities that can arise. Karpin has had his share of those, including two of the 15 unassisted triple plays in major-league history, by the Athletics' Randy Velarde in 2000 and the Phillies' Eric Bruntlett in 2009. But until a soggy and blustery night this month at Yankee Stadium, Karpin had never gotten to invoke the 11 essential words of rule 9.17 (b) (2): four innings of a game that lasts five innings on defense. Advertisement Those words made starter Robbie Ray the winning pitcher for the Giants on April 11, even though he failed to work the five innings that are almost always required for a starter to qualify for a victory. The Giants took the lead for good in the top of the first that night and beat the Yankees, 9-1, in a rain-shortened game that was called after the Giants batted in the top of the sixth. The timing of the stoppage was critical. Had San Francisco taken the field for the bottom of the sixth, Karpin could not have awarded the victory to Ray, who was pulled after four innings. But because the Giants played only — and exactly — five innings on defense, Ray's effort was enough for the win. The rule has been invoked only nine other times in the division play era and just once since 2009, for San Diego's Joe Musgrove in Cincinnati three years ago. (The others to win that way, since you're surely wondering: Wilbur Wood, Bob Forsch, Mike Griffin, Richie Lewis, Larry Luebbers, CC Sabathia, Chris Michalak and Drew Carpenter.) Official scorers once had more leeway in determining which pitcher gets the victory. The rulebook did not specify a five-inning minimum for starters until 1950; before then, hundreds of starters who did not go five were awarded wins. Does Karpin like the rule the way it is now? He smiled and said it's not his job to like or dislike the rules he applies. 'I like that I knew it,' he said. Trea Turner holds the major-league record for most stolen bases in a season without getting caught, with 30 for the Phillies in 2023. But a minor leaguer named Tyler Tolbert had actually doubled that total the year before, with a 60-for-60 season for Class-A Quad Cities. He took the team's name, River Bandits, literally — and insists he beat every tag. Advertisement 'There's always close calls,' Tolbert said. 'But as a base runner, I'll always say they made the right call.' Tolbert reached the majors on March 31 when the Kansas City Royals promoted him as a pinch-running specialist, a role Terrance Gore filled for their World Series teams in the mid-2010s. Through his first six games in the majors, Tolbert was 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts. A 13th-round pick from the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 2019, Tolbert was born in 1998 — the year of the fabled Mark McGwire/Sammy Sosa home run chase. There's been only one 75-steal season in his lifetime, by the Mets' Jose Reyes, who stole 78 in 2007. While Tolbert is encouraged by rule changes to promote base stealing — 'I think the game's going back to the old days, with speed,' he said — he explains below why gaudy individual totals might not be coming back. Speed is enough, at first: 'As a kid I was just quick. I paid attention to how to run bases, but as I got older in high school I started learning a little bit more and in college I learned a lot more — a foundation of what to look for, how to prepare to steal a base. Because when you're an amateur, you just kind of outrun the ball.' In the pros, you need more: 'One, just to be fearless. You can't be scared, honestly. If you're scared to get picked off or anything, you're already in trouble. Two is just to know who the pitcher is and who the catcher is, identifying the matchups. And then we have a 'go' key, and we're just trying to get a jump every time. Even when I'm not in a 'go' mode, like I'm not trying to steal right here, in my mind, I'm still trying to get my rep in, so I'm ready at any time.' Pay attention to the dirt, and protect your fingers: 'I slide headfirst. But the dirt does matter. I've noticed at Yankee Stadium, the dirt holds water, so it's gonna stick a little bit more. So I might slide closer to the bag. I've jammed a few fingers and thumbs, for sure, but that was before the sliding mitt.' Advertisement Don't expect a 100-steal season anytime soon: 'I feel like (it's) because pitchers are getting quicker and the catchers here are elite. You have more scouting reports, you have more data, more accessibility to tendencies. Also it's a long season, and to steal a base, that's exerting a lot of energy. And say the pitcher's really quick, if (the runner) can score from first on a double, why risk getting thrown out? If he can get a ball in the gap, you're going to score. So you've got to know your matchups and know what the situation calls for.' Listen to the greats: 'I loved Rickey Henderson. That was my dad's favorite player. I used to watch highlights of Rickey, the Man of Steal. And I remember when I was like 11, MLB Network, Diamond Demo. He was talking about stealing bases and he talked about a few things that have always stuck with me. I can't tell you my secrets, but he said something I still use to this day.' "Who taught you that? I've never heard that!" Rickey = the 🐐 — MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) December 22, 2024 When you're pursuing an MBA at the Wharton School — while climbing the executive hierarchy of an MLB team — it's best to finish your assignments on time. When you're a volunteer contributor to Sliders, you can take your time. So we're giving the busy Sam Fuld, the Philadelphia Phillies' future president of business operations, a pass on his recent Immaculate Grid homework. Fuld, the former outfielder for the Cubs, Rays, A's and Twins, missed our deadline to send in a theme from the April Fool's Day grid, which had spaces for any nine players in MLB history. But he came through eventually. Fuld, who was born in Durham, NH, and attended Phillips Exeter Academy, chose nine players who were born in New Hampshire or attended high school there. They include a Cy Young Award winner from Exeter (Chris Carpenter), an All-Star lefty from North Conway (Jeff Locke) and a lifetime 1.000 hitter from Concord (Matt Tupman, who was 1-for-1). Not many major leaguers share their last name with a holiday. There's Steve Christmas, a catcher from the mid-1980s, but almost anything else is a stretch. Gary (New Year's) Eave? Coby (Cinco de) Mayo? Not quite. Then there's the holiday coming up on Sunday … which brings us to Luke Easter, a prodigious 1950s power hitter. Easter had started in the Negro Leagues with Buck Leonard and the celebrated Homestead Grays, and signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1949. Advertisement 'Had Luke come up to the big leagues as a young man,' Cleveland slugger Al Rosen told the Smithsonian magazine, decades later, 'there's no telling what numbers he would have had.' Easter was 35 years old when the 1950 season began and went on to smash 292 homers for the decade. He had three big power seasons for Cleveland before a 10-year stint as a prolific home run hitter in Class AAA. Easter's biggest years came in Buffalo, where he became one of the city's first sports icons. Easter was 40 and hobbled when he joined the Bisons, but his raw power remained. In three full seasons with Buffalo, he belted 113 homers — 'Easter Eggs,' they called them — and became a charter member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame. 'Buffalo fans have always worshipped their sport heroes,' his plaque reads, 'but few have ever attained the near-mythical status accorded Bison great Luke Easter.' The Bisons — now a Toronto Blue Jays affiliate — include Easter's No. 25 among their three retired numbers. Here's a short video they put together about him last year: (Top photo of Mark Ripperger: Josh Boland / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
Fox News
12-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox News
MLB umpire called 'perfect game' in Royals win over Twins, metrics tracking shows
MLB umpire Mark Ripperger is receiving praise for how he called a recent game. Ripperger was behind home plate for Thursday's game between the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins. While the Royals' shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.'s sacrifice fly broke the tie in the seventh inning, much of the talk after the game was about Ripperger. The umpire was credited with calling a "perfect game," which is something that reportedly has happened just one other time in the Umpire Scorecards era. Umpire Scorecards compile the major league's advanced pitch-tracking data to rate how accurate an umpire was during a given game. The data also considers how an umpire's call impacts the game. Ripperger made calls for 136 pitches on Thursday. According to Umpire Scorecards metrics, he called every pitch accurately. Kansas City trailed Minnesota by a run on Thursday before rallying in the seventh inning. Royals starter Michael Wacha pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two earned runs. He also struck out four batters. The Royals' 2-3 win over the Twins on Thursday was followed by a 7-0 loss to the Guardians on Friday. Former MLB umpire Pat Hoberg is credited with the only other perfect game Umpire Scorecards has recorded. Hoberg accomplished that feat in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
