We’ve been pretty quick to call out umpires when they have a bad day, especially when it comes to Angel Hernandez who is consistently terrible. But sometimes, you just have to tip the cap to an undeniably great performance.
Umpire Pat Hoberg had one of those games on Monday night in Denver.
If it wasn’t for the first pitch of the game, Hoberg would have pulled off a perfect game calling balls and strikes behind the plate. According to Umpire Scorecards, Hoberg correctly called 122 of the 123 taken pitches correctly in the Rockies’ 4-1 win over the Phillies. His only miss was a borderline pitch that, again, came on the first pitch of the game.
Umpire: Pat Hoberg
Final: Phillies 1, Rockies 4#RingTheBell // #Rockies#PHIvsCOL // #COLvsPHI pic.twitter.com/3FxBW22jRt— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) April 19, 2022
This was that lone missed call:
Every single pitch after this first one was called correctly: WOW. https://t.co/SRwdCN5PuG
— Cyle Hartwig (@Cyle03) April 19, 2022
It wasn’t even that bad.
Baseball could certainly benefit from an automated strike zone because performances like that from Hoberg are so far from the norm. But hey, Hoberg should take a bow. He rolled up to Coors Field and did an excellent robot ump impression.
MLB fans deservedly gave him plenty of recognition for the great night.