When an MLB umpire shows up to the ballpark, you’d hope to see a level of focus and professionalism that’s worthy of a big-league game. And while umpiring is an extremely difficult job, fans and players expect a certain standard.
Well, umpire Emil Jimenez singlehandedly made an argument for robot umps on Monday.
Working behind the plate for the San Francisco Giants’ game against the Washington Nationals, Jimenez was simply all over the place. As a rookie ump, he doesn’t have the notoriety of bad umpires like Angel Hernandez and Brian O’Nora, but on this night, Jimenez was actually the worst.
According to Umpire Scorecards, Jimenez posted a putrid 84.4 percent in accuracy on the night. He called-strike accuracy was 70 percent.
Umpire: Emil Jimenez
Final: Nationals 5, Giants 1#NATITUDE // #SFGiants#WSHvsSF // #SFvsWSHMore stats for this game 👇https://t.co/OYeymK6ZfC pic.twitter.com/ws2ZLjdEJQ
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) May 9, 2023
It was the worst performance from an umpire this season. In fact, it was the worst performance by an umpire since the 2019 season when Adrian Johnson embarrassingly posted 84.1 and 84.4 percent games.
And really, many of those missed calls weren’t even close.
Just like when a slumping hitter has trouble seeing the ball, Jimenez just couldn’t judge the strike zone with any consistency. MLB fans deservedly ripped the performance. It was unacceptable.
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This was how Twitter reacted
70% called strike rate is terrible send this umpire to the moon https://t.co/W80gUEnDWu
— Jeremy ⚾️🍢🏟 (@jeremy_jdavj) May 9, 2023
Not an ideal day behind the plate here. https://t.co/tH0wJXXCgr
— Nick Allen (@nallen64) May 9, 2023
This is Angel Hernandez level bad. https://t.co/7PIdGxwzHI
— Drawoh Rebroc (@hscesq17) May 9, 2023
Oh yikes. That's atrocious https://t.co/tlTyLl1kCS
— Hannah Rae (@HRaeIsAwesome) May 9, 2023
Hey @MLBUA why the heck do you hate the Nats so much? https://t.co/RRZQMyve68
— NewWaveNats 🌊 (@NewWaveNats) May 9, 2023
Imagine being this awful at your job and still being employed the next day https://t.co/uclNPmH5oT
— Candlestick Will (@CandlestickWill) May 9, 2023
😑😑😑
Not only that game's rate but I feel like that's one of the worst overall scores I've seen. I am, with reservations, ready to see our robot overlords take over this and nothing but this. https://t.co/gRPhqoP8BS
— Katie Johnson 📚 (@WisJohnson7) May 9, 2023
There is bad, and then there is Emil Jimenez. That is brutal https://t.co/CX1DfoAxwe
— CJ Good (@Aidansheart) May 9, 2023
Yikes! https://t.co/TN0igyZbEh
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) May 9, 2023
Robot umps can’t get here soon enough.
