Game 2 of the World Series was certainly an eventful one ending in a 1-1 record, and MLB announced that it was a truly perfect game.
More often than not, umpires aren’t able to call completely perfect games. They aren’t faced with the luxury of having an outlined strike zone in front of them, and with some pitches coming in over 100 MPH, it’s nearly impossible to get every single call correct.
MLB umpire Pat Hoberg, however, defied all odds and called 129 of 129 pitches that were taken by hitters in Game 2 with complete accuracy, according to Sporting News MLB.
They further shared that Hoberg’s perfect game is the only game with complete accuracy in the Umpire Scorecards database, which dates back to 2015.
As if that’s not already impressive enough, they added that he had six games this season with 98 percent accuracy or higher. He ranks as the best ump in MLB this season with an overall 95.5 percent accuracy over 96 entries.
To prove just how hard it is to be an umpire, the New York Times put together a simulation of real game pitches that allows the viewer to call what they think without a strike zone guide visible. After playing that game, most would agree that being an umpire is a much harder job than it looks.
All too often, only the umpires underperforming get focused on.
Pat Hoberg’s stellar accuracy flew under the radar this season in midst of not-so-favorable umpires
Nearly all MLB fans know of Angel Hernandez and his horrendous antics as an umpire. That didn’t stop this season, and some people even wondered if he was the worst ump in the league.
On Umpire Scorecards, he’s below league average with 93.5 percent accuracy, 93.2 percent expected accuracy and 92.6 percent consistency. He ranks in the 43rd percentile for accuracy, 27th for expected accuracy and ninth for consistency. In comparison, Hoberg is in the 100th for accuracy, 62nd for expected accuracy and 94th for consistency.
However, he never gained as much attention as Hernandez did.
While it’s important to call out umpires who are falling far below their standards, it’s equally as important to recognize when an umpire is doing an incredible job. The World Series Game 2 could’ve gone much differently if a worse ump was thrown in instead, but he guaranteed that the outcome was exactly what the pitches called for.