I think we all know who it is...this guy has been on some kind of free pass for YEARS..whereas this year especially,most of the vet umps have been calling a nice strike zone (FINALLY),including an occasional pitch at the letters (!!!),this guy is inconsistant...and calls NO corners whatsovever....every time I see he is working a game I am watching I CRINGE.....any guesses here who I am talking about?


and BTW....Joe Brinkman, Montague and Froemming all are still working this year...Froemming HAS to be shooting for Bill Klem's record by now...there can be no other explaination....

Brinkman or Joe West

Angel Hernandez........

I do not think Angel H should be classified in this column anymore. He has worked the championship series two years straight and running now, and plus he has been doing a pretty good job from the games I have watched him work.

And may I ask when did you become the Umpire's Supervisor for MLB? Or do you banter about your brothers in your own association?

Just My Opinion!

pitch at the letters???
 

I don't even call a pitch at the letters a strike in HS baseball much less expect it to be called in MLB.

Hey they made it to MLB, they have to be pretty good to do that. As far as some umpires I like better than others, but most of the time its their personality that bothers me.

I'll let the coaches worry about their calls.

Thanks
David

No matter who you think is the worst umpire in mlb is still so much better than you can possibly comprehend that it's comical. Go back to working your t-ball games and stop criticizing people who you could never be.

Re: pitch at the letters???
 

Well said David!

You mean from the angle of the off-center center field camera, the pitches looked like balls?

No, who are you talking about? Who ever he is, he has to be pretty awesome to even be working these games.

People Who Live in Glass Houses.......
 

What are there, about 65 full time MLB Umpires? These men have rosen to the pinnacle of their profession. They perform in front of thousands of people every night. Nobody at the game wears their number or chants their name (unless its followed by YOU @#$%!) They aren't robots or machines, maybe some are long in the tooth. The bottom line is that it's harder to get to the majors as an umpire than as a player. Give them their due, watch them work and then go work some games. BTW, my personal favorite is Ed Rapuano.


IG3

Re: People Who Live in Glass Houses.......
 

Ha I like you and I don't even know you....Ed and Mark Wegner are my two favorites...personally, the only umpire I truly do not like is Joe West. I don't particulary like CB Bucknor either, but I'm not one to complain about the job they're doing.

And BTW, there are 68 full-time MLB umpires. :D

Thanks, mattmets
 

65 was a 'guesstimate' without checking WUA. I knew I'd get the right number from someone here.

IG3

The ever-popular (pre-umpire strike) Eric Gregg.

First off, if you are talking about Joe Brinkman, I believe that you are totally wrong. I think he has improved a great deal over the last year. He no longer sets up three feet behind the catcher and he no longer takes forever to make a call. If you have watched him over the last year, he has shown more enthusiasm on the field and he has done a better job behind the plate. You want to talk about an umpire with a small stike zone - how about Derryl Cousins (I like him and respect him as an umpire but he has the smallest zone in the majors)

Second, those of you who are Joe West haters - I do not understand this either. Perhaps he is not the warmest of umpires on the field, but he has a consistant strike zone and he does a good job on the bases.

Ed Montague, he too must be doing something right, he was only the crew chief in the world series last year.

Let me also come to the defense of Bruce Froemming - he may be old but I think he still does a solid job an a mlb umpire. I've noticed he rarely gets a close play wrong on the bases.

My favorite umpire, by the way? I'd probably go with Randy Marsh.

You wanna know why I hate Joe West? Let me explain my stance, please. He called Mark Bellhorn out the other night on a pitch that was well below the knees. His strike zone is consistently inconsistent and he has a habit of finding an argument too often.

Second, Ed Montague was NOT the only crew chief is the Series last year- what do you think Dale Scott, Charlie Reliford, and Gerry Davis are? Ed was crew chief of the Series (and the All-Star Game. And a Divison Series crew.), but he was not the ONLY crew chief. And yes, I do believe that Ed is a very good umpire.