How MLB umpires are treating the Astros this season
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Astros skipper Joe Espada argues with umpire Manny Gonzalez during a game against the Washington Nationals on April 20. Photo: G Fiume/Getty Images
Despite what you may have heard — or think you've seen with your own two eyes — Major League Baseball's umpires are actually doing pretty well this season, at least when it comes to calling balls and strikes.
By the numbers: League-wide, umps have a nearly 94% accuracy rating so far in 2024, per unofficial metric-keeper UmpScorecards.
- That's down a bit from 2023 (94.09%) but up from a relatively miserable 90% or so in 2015.
Zoom in: Umpires have correctly called 94.1% of balls and strikes when Houston's been on either side of the plate this season.
- The lowest accuracy rating during an Astros game was during April 7's 3-1 victory over the Texas Rangers in Arlington, when home plate umpire Scott Barry correctly called only 87.3% of the game's 269 pitches.
- The highest umpire accuracy was during May 5's 4-5 loss to the Seattle Mariners at Minute Maid Park. Umpire Junior Valentine correctly called 97.8% of the game's 290 pitches.
How it works: UmpScorecards' accuracy stat tracks the percentage "of called pitches called correctly by the umpire."
- See more about the methodology here.
What of umpire Angel Hernandez, the source of many baseball fans' ire this year?
- He's at 93.3% across six games and 1,099 called pitches.
- He's called balls and strikes for the Astros only twice this season: April 12, when he correctly called 91.2% of pitches, and May 1, when he correctly called 94.9% of pitches.
Caveat: Calling balls and strikes is only part of an ump's job.
The bottom line: The robo-umps are maybe coming one day, anyway.