Angel Hernandez and the call for automated strike zones

TSN Baseball Insider

Archive

On Monday April 18, Major League Baseball umpire Pat Hoberg called a near-perfect game. He called 122 of 123 taken pitches accurately. Hoberg missed a borderline call on the first pitch of the game, then called every other pitch correctly. It was an extraordinary effort.

Last Sunday night in a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies, umpire Angel Hernandez inaccurately called 16 pitches that were taken for an 88 per cent success rate. He actually called a pitch that was 6.5 inches off the inside corner of the plate a strike. It was the biggest miss of a pitch this season. Hernandez had players and manager in both dugouts screaming at him. Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber lost his mind and was ejected from the game for arguing.

Being an umpire is tough. They are asked to do an impossible job. I have great respect for them. Most umpires’ performances fall somewhere in between the Hoberg and Hernandez efforts. 

Hall of Famer Tom Seaver used to say that every game for a pitcher comes down to four or five key pitches. Every other pitch thrown sets up those pitches. If you ask any hitter, a mistake by an umpire on a 1-1 pitch can be crippling. A pitch called a strike that should be a ball changes the entire dynamic of an at-bat. A 1-2 count is totally different than a 2-1 count. Any one mistake can change the outcome of an at-bat, an inning, or a game.

The horrific game by Hernandez has renewed the call for automated strike zones. MLB has been testing them for several years now in the minor leagues. The Automated Ball and Strike System (ABS) operated in some spring training venues and is in AAA West and Low-A Southeast this season.

The feedback on the system has been good for