When it comes to bad umpires, fans are quick to call out Angel Hernandez. And don’t get me wrong: Hernandez is a bad umpire. But he is far from the worst umpire working Major League games.
That title should probably belong to Brian O’Nora, and it’s somewhat astonishing that O’Nora has operated under the radar compared to Hernandez, C.B. Bucknor or Rob Drake.
Tuesday’s game between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins was yet another example of O’Nora being totally unsuited for his role as a big-league umpire. According to Umpire Scorecards, O’Nora posted a putrid 89.6 percent accuracy on the night. He missed 16 calls, including several that were nowhere close to the plate.
Umpire: Brian O'Nora
Final: Marlins 4, Braves 7#MakeItMiami // #ForTheA#MIAvsATL // #ATLvsMIAMore stats for this game 👇https://t.co/rN07jB2llj pic.twitter.com/WWaKuTwibd
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) April 26, 2023
This pitch that nearly caught the opposite batter’s box was called a strike to Ozzie Albies.
"The strike zone is a suggestion." –@BrandonGaudin
Umpire Brian O'Nora missed 17 calls on the night in the #Braves #Marlins game, including 4 by more than 2.5 inches. pic.twitter.com/LyZE7QGdyM
— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) April 26, 2023
Now, this wasn’t just an off night for O’Nora. He’s been this way all season. Out of the five games he’s worked behind the plate, he’s posted a sub-90-percent accuracy in three of them. Out of umpires who have worked at least five games behind the plate this season, O’Nora ranks dead last in accuracy at 91 percent.
When you take into account his off the field conduct and his poor performances this season, it’s an insult to the game that he’s still working behind the plate.
After Tuesday, MLB fans had seen enough of O’Nora.
This was how Twitter reacted
Brandon Gaudin couldn’t have described the umpires performance better than that without a expletive. Shout out to him. https://t.co/4J3GI4P6hb
— Sell (@stopselldy) April 26, 2023
You know what would happen if I was this bad at my job? I’d be fired…. https://t.co/0oApb6YpoJ
— BlackBerryBrad (@BlackBerryBrad) April 26, 2023
This should be unacceptable @MLB @MLBUA https://t.co/D4mLZVJB1S
— Big Shoots (@WillieMaysHays_) April 26, 2023
Imagine if all jobs wouldn’t fire you when you’re this bad at your role. https://t.co/l15XPxrAKk
— Alex Courtney (@ACourt389) April 26, 2023
This is the “I don’t care if it’s bad, as long as it’s consistent” dream scorecard https://t.co/zGSP5gVNEO
— Jay Dunnah, Eddie Rosario supporter (@JDunnah) April 26, 2023
About the worst I’ve seen https://t.co/i0nA9Ws54N
— garner brooks (@GarnerBrooks) April 26, 2023
https://t.co/welUIvtT02 pic.twitter.com/3rBUAg0GHG
— SportsTalkATL Alex (@GeauxSportsTalk) April 26, 2023
Keep Brian O’Nora far, far away from us https://t.co/v0VDKSpCWp
— Gaseous Clay (@ShawnZebley) April 26, 2023
Ridiculous https://t.co/k3ZsekOlRd pic.twitter.com/reyOC8zKL9
— Brian Finneran (@BFinn86) April 26, 2023
Brian O’Nora quickly becoming the new Angel Hernandez https://t.co/4UJRGeTGG4
— Nick (@Nick_OnTap) April 26, 2023
This was a disgrace to the game. Absolutely horrible to watch for both sides https://t.co/ymVA0RoQgz
— Chop Town (@choptownnews) April 26, 2023
Brian Oh no-ra https://t.co/L1nFy6fglU
— Dayton from Nebraska (@BravesAmerica) April 26, 2023
MLB needs to do something about this because it’s unacceptable.
