Bill Hohn: Worst MLB umpire or merely the most glaring?

[LDUB]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

Oh wow! He even disagrees with that!

"... No one is somewhat average." Good grief!

Yeah about 50% of baseball umpires are better than him (or anyone else in MLB)

[Ump153]

Originally Posted by LDUB

Yeah about 50% of baseball umpires are better than him (or anyone else in MLB)

No, about 95% of MLB umpires are considered better than Hohn. Don't be surprised if he "retires" early.

[tarheelcoach]

An article about Hohn's actions in that game includes the following little tidbit:

Hohn gave Marlins catcher John Baker a fist-bump after the final out of the game, a strikeout of Nate McLouth. Baker instigated the fist-bump and Hohn complied.

The author continued with

Also, there was no reason to return Baker’s fist-bump. It was probably innocent. Players congratulate umpires on what players think are good games by the umps all the time. You’ll often see a pitcher say, “Good job” to an ump as he’s leaving the field. But a fist-bump after all that transpired with Cox and McCann?

Umpires are obviously supposed to be impartial. Again, the fist-bump probably wasn’t meant to show favoritism but what matters is the perception. If baseball allows an action that seems to show any hint of impartiality, that could mean big trouble for the game. When Baker stuck out his fist, Hohn should have simply said, “No thanks. I can’t.” and walked off the field. Incidents like this could make Major League Baseball look like pro wrestling and require stiff punishment.

I personally think that giving the catcher a fist bump at the end of the game, especially after ejecting two members of the other team, looks REAL bad. The umpire shouldn't participate in the winning team's celebration. Again, giving the fist bump just gives the wrong impression, and we are in the PR game - perception is reality.

[Ump Rube]

Have fun with this one: Five Reasons Crooked Umpire Bill Hohn Should Be Tossed From Baseball | Bleacher Report

[Paul L]

clearly (klir-lee), adv. 1. used to indicate that the speaker wants you to believe something, but cannot pursuasively articulate why. 2. not clear at all.

[voiceoflg]

I'm not usually one to advocate violence in any situation. But tomorrow night for the finale of this series, it would not bother me one bit if McCann accidentally moves his glove at the last minute to allow Hohn to catch one in that nasty porn mustache.

He is a bush league ump and had it in for the Braves tonight.

To the author, Joel Barker, as a journalist I find what you wrote "bush league." You should be fired immediately for calling for an umpire to be physically injured.

[jwwashburn]

Originally Posted by voiceoflg

To the author, Joel Barker, as a journalist I find what you wrote "bush league." You should be fired immediately for calling for an umpire to be physically injured.

I doubt Joel Barker gets paid.

Is there some web site that has umpire assignments in advance? I cannot wait until Hohn has the Braves again. It should be entertaining.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by Ump Rube

Have fun with this one: Five Reasons Crooked Umpire Bill Hohn Should Be Tossed From Baseball | Bleacher Report

My comments are now on record at this article's comment section.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Originally Posted by voiceoflg

To the author, Joel Barker, as a journalist I find what you wrote "bush league." You should be fired immediately for calling for an umpire to be physically injured.

Lines like that make a blowhard like that Atlanta blogger decidedly a non-journalist.

[tarheelcoach]

Anyone can write an article on Bleacher Report. It is a fansite. The guy is an idiot - typical Brave fan.

[eagle_12]

What an idiot (the writer from the bleacher report)

I'm not usually one to advocate violence in any situation. But tomorrow night for the finale of this series, it would not bother me one bit if McCann accidentally moves his glove at the last minute to allow Hohn to catch one in that nasty porn mustache.

He is a bush league ump and had it in for the Braves tonight.



That's gonna have to have one heck of a lot of spin, or really bad aim to hit him down at third base. What a joke!

[Bishopcolle]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoSteve

My comments are now on record at this article's comment section.

Well said, Steve! Kudos!

[GA Umpire]

Originally Posted by tarheelcoach

Anyone can write an article on Bleacher Report. It is a fansite. The guy is an idiot - typical Brave fan.

Typical, huh? I'm not a Braves fan. Just a baseball fan.

[SanDiegoSteve]

Originally Posted by GA Umpire

Typical, huh? I'm not a Braves fan. Just a baseball fan.

And you certainly don't qualify as "typical" anyway!

[Southside]

While it's impossible to know for sure how he ranks with the league, the fact that Hohn has only worked one post-season series since the shake-up of the staff in 1999 (2005 Division Series), suggests that he's not exactly impressing the powers that be. For someone with 20 years of service, three total postseasons (all Division Series) is pretty low. The only umpires with fewer postseason assignments were called up in 1999 or later, and most guys with Hohn's experience have around 7-8 playoff years. The fact that MLB has kept him out of the postseason in 17 of the 20 years he has umpired, including 9 of the 10 years since merit was supposedly given more weight in playoff assignments seems to suggest that he must be pretty close to the bottom of the league.

With most MLB guys, I'm honestly pretty surprised when they mess up. Every time I've seen Hohn work (admittedly not a lot of games), it seems like an adventure. Hohn and Paul Nauert (who's never been assigned a postseason game, besides the #6 spot on a division series crew in 8+ years [i.e. never been in a position where he could possible be behind the plate in a playoff game]), seem to be the two guys I've seen really struggle behind the plate, compared to most MLB guys. Obviously everyone misses a borderline pitch here or there, but I've seen Hohn and Nauert miss several not-borderline pitches over the years, which is not something you see very often from most of the guys who make it to that level. (I only mentioned balls/strikes, since that's generally what separates the "outstanding" from the "Major League-caliber" umpire.)

With so few spots opening up these days, and the logjam of AAA guys with lots of MLB games, it will be interesting to see if umpires like Hohn and Nauert who seem to struggle a bit more than most MLB umpires will be encouraged to "retire."