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

Major League Baseball umpires are ostensibly the best in the world. And several former MLB umpires are among the best teachers of umpiring in the world. So when there is some bad umpiring going on, it leads one to wonder why we can't come up with someone better. With the microscope of television and delivery of every game that's played, we all see all the bad calls that we can stand, making it look more glaring than it is.

But it seems like Bill Hohn is on more than his share of bad call highlight clips. Is there anyone who is regarded as worse than him?

How many is "his share?" How many do the other seventy-odd have?

Key word there is "seems."

It really does seem like he has the most problem calls and disputes.

Well CB Bucknor has major anger management problems, and everybody complains about his strikezone. I think it was Bucknor who was voted worst umpire by the players.

You're just mad because you can't grow as manly a 'stache as his. :D:D

And you are qualified to state this how?

Don' know the answer, but if you want ejection statistics for umpires from 2008 on back to Klem go to-----
http: // www . retrosheet . org/boxesetc/index.html#Umpires.
Put all these letters and spaces together since it doesn't work when I drag the site into the screen. The U in Umpires is capitalized. Then find any umpire ejection stats you want by finding their name alphabetically.

He is working on his Psych degree in college.

Why didn't you just copy and paste the Web address, which turns it into a hyperlink to that site?

http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/index.html

Hmmm...no M.A. L.P. nor Ph.D., nor has he ever met this person. The question still holds.

I didn't mean that he was qualified, I meant that is what makes him believe he is qualified.

The good news is, or at least was ten years ago, fewer than 25% of Psych majors end up working in the field five years out of college.

Is that thing real???

He once took a foul ball so hard it got knocked off.

Gotcha.

I thought it was Tim McClelland who was the worst? I guess you just watch TV and whoever appears to miss a close call is the worst to you.

From the other thread...

1. Right hand...who cares? Find a real reason to hate on him.
2. The knee is no longer a valid plate stance now or what?
3. Yeah he missed a call; big deal.
4. How else do you eject someone who is in the dugout? Get a clue.

And before you come and say it, no I'm not being disagreeable;

I don't have a dog in this Michael Vick, but that's just not true. I hate to "disagree," but Luke, you disagree with a lot of people whether their post is idiotic or not.

You just like to disagree and stir the pot. Everyone knows that, and that's okay. That's just you, and we accept you for it. But to say that you only disagree when people post idiotic things is just, well, idiotic.

Lol!!!

I thought the knee stance wasn't used anymore or valid. My guess is one knee would make it hard to move from behind the dish and to see over some catchers.

OK, first: you must learn to distinguish MiLB from MLB. In MiLB the umpires toe the line and do exactly as they're told in order to advance. This includes using prescribed plate stances.

In MLB, the umpires can do as they like. The knee does make it more difficult to get out from behind the plate, but in the 4-umpire system that's less of an issue. And plate umpires do not need to "see over" catchers in any currently accepted stance: they're in the slot.

Actually, Gerry Davis is the worst. No question. :mad:


Wait... never mind.... I'm just holding a grudge for a "bad" call he made 3 years ago... ;)

I suppose he is a member of the "Bad Umpire of the Month" club.

So, does this mean Doug Eddings is off the hook?

Wait, I thought it was agreed that Angel Hernandez was the worst!

The best umpire I ever worked with in High School ball(he used to work NCAA, as well) was about 6'6" and used the knee because it was pretty darn difficult for him to get low enough AND hold that-he found the knee to work very well for him. I never once had a problem with my partner not being in the right spot.

Joe

Not for Cards fans.

Anyway, I thought it was C. B. Bucknor. :confused:

Wow!

I forgot just how bad this was.

If that fist pump was not an out signal, what was it?

And for Eddings to say he actually KNEW Paul did not catch it is preposterous. there is NO way that the PU could know that. Even from the super slow mo, I do not think anyone could know that.

I don't know how many pitches most people have caught with a catcher's mitt, but I have caught countless thousands, and there are catches you make with the web mashed into the ground and the ball hits the web and bounces up into the pocket of the mitt. That's the kind of catch that Josh Paul made on that Eddings disaster.

I don't want to rehash this, as we thoroughly discussed the play at length, but I watched the Comcast replay close-up over and over, and it looked to me that the ball hit dirt, and kicked up a little dirt as it bounced into the glove. In any case, it is incumbent on a catcher to realize that it may or may not be called a catch, and Josh Paul should have tagged Pierzynski just to be certain. Eddings changed the way we call the play, but it would have been moot if Paul had done his job properly.

Agreed.

And it was the last thing Paul ever did as an Angel.

What about the safe, out, out, call at first last night in the Braves/Marlins game. Hermida hit a single to left, ball back to SS, who looked and fired a shot to 1B. Hermida was asleep, 1b coach asleep, and Hohn asleep as the tag was applied before Hermida got back. Hohn game a great safe sign, then out, then out again. Double play?

In the second inning of the Blue Jays-Mariners game, Bill Welke called a Mariner runner safe at first even though they clearly tagged the runner AND he went off the baseline to avoid the tag. The runner before him reached on a hit by pitch that never actually hit him. I know questionable calls happen, but it was frustrating watching this in what could have been Doc Halladay's last start as a Blue Jay. Guess it happens though:). It still seems like a travesty that there are MLB umpires like Bucknor and now apparently Hohn, who probably aren't as good as some AAA umpires but who keep their spot just because they got there first.

Well, now you don't have to worry about that anymore, since Roy ain't going anywhere.

Our GM JP Ricciardi set the Roy Halladay trading deadline at July 28th, but it's now a day later and some trade rumours continue. It's funny that we are paying our closer something like $15 million for this year and 2010 while he plays for the Chicago Cubs minor league organization, yet we can't keep the best pitcher in the world. I wouldn't mind seeing Doc and Timmy as a 1-2 combo though.

UMPIRE REVOLUTION!

Seriously, these guys are the best of the best.

I was wondering if anybody wanted to comment on how baseball officials have a much different style because baseball is such a different game than basketball, baseball, football? Does anyone think that style of baseball at the MLB level compared to MiLB, NCAA, or FED is a bit more laid back, and as a result, umpires behave much differently?

And if so, wouldn't that mean that an experienced amateur ball official can't really understand what umpiring in MLB is like, and therefore, aren't qualified to critique style and demeanor? The calls are the calls, but it seems lots of criticism from this forum is centered around ways in which things are dealt with, appearance, or mechanics.

WOW! Very Very awful.

Baseball Video Highlights & Clips | ATL@FLA: Escobar's strong throw keeps game knotted - Video | MLB.com: Multimedia

Remarkably bad. My 6 year old daughter has a better hammer than that.

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._6931471_n.jpg

Oy Vey.

Thanks, Hohn.

What a crock.:(

Sorry, but the best pitchers in the world right now are Mark Buehrle and Tim Lincecum, hands down.

In Hohn's defense, the first baseman missed Hermida's right leg with the tag and then tagged him on the left leg. His timing was bad, yes, but he got it right. He may not be the best umpire in MLB, but these guys are human just like the rest of us.

I agree with this...We all know he SHOULD have hesitated, made one call on one play, but he IS human, and we have ALL made that type of mistake.....

Who knows why he made a safe call and then two of the worst hammers in the history of baseball but, that explanation seems quite far fetched. It was one sweep tag.

Nice Bracelet, though.

And this is a freaking weird play that probably caught him a bit by surprise. You can find a lot wrong with Hohn without trying to stretch something like this.

Be honest, Rich ... Have you ever made two calls on a play that was that quick?

I do not recall ever seeing a professional umpire look this bad.

I do not recall the last time I saw a HS umpire look this bad.

Again, it is not just the safe/out/out call but the amateur hammer. Is that his normal hammer? Add that to the ridiculous bracelet and you have one unprofessional umpire.

You are infatuated with that bracelet. Do you want him to get you one or give you his? I'm sure he can get you one. If you ask him nicely, he might get you a matching one to his so the two of you can match on date night.

Have you gotten the one from SDS yet?

I liked you better as a rat, I think.

I've seen umpires with the Phiten necklaces on, too. Any comments there?

Personally, I think the "code" can use some updating. I don't really see anything wrong with the bracelet or the necklaces, etc. I don't wear one, but I'm not a jewelry guy for the most part (I don't even wear my wedding band all the time).

That bracelet is the stupidest thing I have ever seen on a Major League Umpire. Even if you somehow were stupid enough to think it looked cool, couldn't you look around and see that NONE of your co-workers are wearing one? Why not wear a pony tail?

He looks like a used car salesman. He hammers like one, also.

He got two more last night
 

OK. We get it. You don't like the bracelet. At least move on to something else for a little while. Something like you don't like the way he wears his hat.

Despite the bad mechanics, he got this call right. So, doesn't he deserve a little break on this.

Well, he got it wrong at first, but then got it right. And that isn't a hammer, that's a "midget punch" used to sell a call. I didn't think it looked weak, he even did it twice for emphasis. It was a normal punch out. What, did you want him to throw his arm out of the socket or what? It looks like he was sleeping on the play, but then again, so were the runner and the base coach.

I could care less about the jewelry issue. As long as the uniform is right and the jewelry isn't over the top like what Deon Sanders wore, accessories really don't matter to me. I may not like it personally but I have no issues with it professionally. It's just too nitpicky for me.

That's not a story. Half of the umpires on this forum have probably dumped Bobby Cox. :D:D:D:D

Looks like Hohn gave Cox tons of rope. Most MLB guys get through about one gesture/sentence and then eject Cox with that bored little "this has happened hundreds of times before" wave.

McCann obviously ran his mouth when he came out again. How stupid can a MLB player be?

To head off what someone will say: If there was barking coming from the dugout by McCann, Hohn had every business going over there.

It's sometimes nice to see a MLB umpire struggle with the zone. Makes me feel a little better when I have a tough little league game.

Hahahahahaha!!!:D

Not only that, whoever (don't remember who) was complaining about Hohn working the knee is full of it. Hohn works the scissors, and his knee never touches the ground. I don't know what fault can be found in Hohn's stance.

Cox and McCann both deserved to go, and McCann could have stayed in the game, but instead of dropping the subject, kept it up and got ran.

Sure they deserved to go.

Hohn got three Braves in Boston and two in this one.

If he tosses Phil Niekro out of the crowd tonight, I might begin to wonder what his deal-e-o is with Atlanta.

Bobby Cox's problem with umpires rubs off on his players. Big shock there.

In the Boston game, he got Chipper Jones while he was the PU and Jones was livid. I have never seen Jones go off like that. It is at least barely possible that Hohn is not 100% in the right in all of these ejections.

The Atl-Bos game was a classic rat argument. Hohn balled a potential strike 3 and the next pitch goes off the wall. All of a suddent the double was the ump's fault.

Jones was sticking up for his pitcher but he couldn't tell if the pitch was a strike or a ball either.

Not since my first or second year as an umpire 20+ years ago. It is surprising coming from a ML umpire, I won't argue that.

You *are* still a rat. So a guy is calm 99% of the time and he goes off and it's the *umpire's* fault? Like an F5 can call balls and strikes. Jeez.

I have to jump in here. I was at the game in Milwaukee where Hohn ran two coaches.

He was unsteady in the scissors all night and it looked like his knee was on the ground about 25% of the time - always with a LH batter. On top of that, Hohn was getting into the stance way late -- he was still moving down after the ball had already left F1's hand.

Like any other experienced umpire, Hohn can get away with that when he's on. When he isn't quite on...

I have this problem from time to time. I have to focus on getting locked in earlier from time to time and it makes the job a whole lot easier.

I was at that game as well. IMO he was right on both check swings.

I had told my wife before the game that the Brewer's coaches have loose screws. When he run them, she looked at me and smiled.

It's easier to make it to the "show" as a player than it is as an umpire. If a player consistently sucks he's gone". If an umpire is consistently at the bottom of the ratings (as far as I know we have no idea who's at the bottom of the ratings but someone has to be last) he'll probably be back. The only time an opening appears is when a guy retires or is injured. Has anyone been dumped because he was consistently bad over the course of a season or seasons? Not talking about the fill ins.

I figured a response like this. I said "It is at least barely possible that Hohn is not 100% in the right in all of these ejections." When did I blame Hohn? I did not.

I just find it interesting that in all my years of seeing Jones play and all my years of watching Sportscenter, I have NEVER seen him act like this. THAT is why I think that it is barely possible that he may not have been 100% in the wrong and Hohn may not have been 100% in the right.

Why has he been ejected 5 other times?

It doesn't make a difference that Hohn was/was not right. If you act like an idiot, you gotta go.

Of course Jones deserved to be tossed. I am not talking about whether the ball was a strike or not.

I am just wondering if it is possible that Hohn might be in the lest bit responsible for the situations that are causing him to be tossing guys out like he is Dusty Rhodes in a Battle Royale.

http://www.doiwrestling.com/lowki/pics/dusty1.jpg

Nope I don't think he is responsible. If he makes a call and someone goes off, it's not his fault.

The one confrontational thing that BH does is he like to point his finger at the crying rat. This has been seen in several of his ejections.

Go back and review the number of ejections he has over a five year period and that might indicate if he has a case of the redass.

The first one was a terrible call -- there's no doubt about it -- I was sitting down the first base line and my season ticket partner (who's also a HS/college umpire) and I looked at each other and wondered if this would lead to fireworks. The bat barely flinched. He called it a swinging strike from the plate.

The second call was right, but only because he went to the line umpire. :D

Dusty and his bionic manboobs.....errr...bionic elbow.

IMO the batter offered at the pitch but was able to keep the bat back. It is not whether the bat flinches, it's if the batter attempts to swing and that is what I feel he did.

The Brewers were pissed because their pitcher couldn't find the zone for the first couple of innings and then they messed up their chance to score with bases loaded and 1 out. The way the Brewer's hitter performed that night was reason enough to eject those two bench coaches.

So you see, this is a judgement call. What I interpret as a strike and what you interpret maybe different. That is why baseball is different that other sports. There are rules and then there are interpretations. BBall and football don't have those interpretations.

Forgive me for being rude, but no f#$%ing way was that an offer. Under no possible interpretation of an offer was that an offer.

This was my exact thought when I saw McCann crying.

See that's what I am talking about. This isn't about a tag before the runner hits the base. This is a judgement call.

Now the bigger question, If you were the coach would you give me grief if I was the umpire and made the same call?

Only if I didn't have a problem with getting run. Everyone knows that (1) coaches don't argue and (2) you don't argue balls and strikes. So I know if I open my yap, I'm gonna get chunked.

I would bet a day's salary that the average MLB umpire misses less than 3% of pitches called. And I would also bet that the average MLB umpire misses less than 1% of called plays. Taking that into consideration, private internet posters calling one umpire the worst MLB umpire is really splitting hairs because the average umpire's numbers are so good.

Now if there was a post regarding a MLB ump being an ashwhole, that would be another situation. There are ashwholes everywhere.

So that's all there is to umpiring? Calling strikes and making calls. Cool.

Then Hohn is somewhat average, I guess.

I never knew Dusty Rhodes was in shape. Unfortunately they've now got Cody Rhodes, the most useless wrestler, in a lot of the midcard events.

The question I had, along the the SS announcers, was why Hohn had his lineup card out when he was having his friendly chat with Cox. When I read about the game later and found that McCann had also been ejected, I thought that was the answer. "Okay, Bobby, who's gonna catch now?" or whatever. But I see now that McCann's ejection came afterward, so what was the deal? Anybody know or care to speculate?

Gullibility is not unique to players.

That was not his "hammer." That was his punch out.

I know it's hard to tell the players without a scorecard on some of these threads, but see post #52 on page 4.

My original trainer years ago called them both hammers and it always stuck with me even though I know almost everyone calls it a punch out. I usually remember to change my vocabulary but, I forgot. I will apologize as soon as Hohn apologizes for his Leo Sayer bracelet.

https://secure.nbcuniversalstore.com...588768_400.jpg

You guess that Hohn is somewhat average? Not even all the way average? Normal people are able to see that everyone who works MLB is very good; no one is somewhat average.

I can't believe how fixated you are with Hohn's bracelet. You must be very lonely.

BTW, it is not a Leo Sayer's model, it is a simple copper bracelet he wears for therapuetic purposes.

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):rolleyes:

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

An article about Hohn's actions in that game includes the following little tidbit:
The author continued with
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.

Here ya go...
 

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

Re Braves blogger
 

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.

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.

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

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

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