When the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies take the field on Friday for Game 1 of the World Series, fans are going to have the expectation of MLB assigning a competent umpiring crew. After all, there is nothing worse than having an actual championship impacted by poor umpiring.
Well, fans can breathe easy because it sure looks like MLB made as close to the right decision with the World Series crew — at least on paper — as we could have expected.
On Wednesday, MLB announced its seven-name umpiring crew, which will have Dan Iassogna serving as crew chief. He’ll be joined by James Hoye, Tripp Gibson, Jordan Baker, Lance Barksdale, Alan Porter and the GOAT Pat Hoberg.
World Series umpires have been announced … pic.twitter.com/0aQjYgeUek
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) October 26, 2022
Now, this is a solid crew. According to Umpire Scorecards Analysis, Hoberg and Gibson are ranked No. 1 and 3 respectively in accuracy behind the plate. The only two umpires on this crew who performed outside the top 30 are Iassogna and Hoye, so Games 1 and 3 could end up being frustrating nights for both teams. But Hoberg and Gibson should offer the kind of umpiring you’d want for a World Series game.
Per @UmpScorecards, 12 of the 20 umps with a home plate assignment in the @MLB Division Series round finished the regular season in the top third based on Overall Accuracy. Only 1, Dan Iassogna, finished in the bottom third. He has the plate in game 3 of CLE-NYY series. pic.twitter.com/v2CP9drvvz
— Umpire Scorecards Analysis (@UmpAnalysis) October 11, 2022
Overall, fans were at least pleased to see Hoberg’s name included in this crew. He’s quickly building the reputation as MLB’s best umpire.
This was how Twitter reacted
Well, they should have put Pat Hoberg as Home Plate ump the entire series, but hey, this crew could be worse. https://t.co/v2DIL5Bzlf
— Jason (just me; no more, no less) (@sanjaromin) October 26, 2022
Pat Hoberg well deserved https://t.co/cDk5OUCuIu
— Giancarlo Stanton Resurgence Bandwagon (@StantonRBW) October 26, 2022
Hoberg should be HP every game https://t.co/ptZ3BVIIqN
— Full Seam Ahead (@FullSeamAhead) October 26, 2022
No idea who the hell any of these guys are. Great sign. https://t.co/zLYgJmikRZ
— Robert Porchinski, Jr. (@BigStrosGuy) October 26, 2022
this is a really good crew, can't get any better than this https://t.co/ymGcAPIzeX
— j (@jvanantonio) October 26, 2022
UmpAnalysis Ranking out of 96
Game 1 – James Hoye #59
Game 2 – Pat Hoberg #1
Game 3 – Dan Iassogna #80
Game 4 – Tripp Gibson #3
Game 5 – Jordan Baker #26
Game 6 – Lance Barksdale #18
Game 7 – Alan Porter #27 https://t.co/9Ilq3s5Q1Q— Will Harris (@HarrisFreePress) October 26, 2022
Hoberg should be HP every game https://t.co/ptZ3BVIIqN
— Full Seam Ahead (@FullSeamAhead) October 26, 2022
Idk any of their names except porter which means it’s good
— Matthew Aucoin (@Matthew_Aucoinn) October 26, 2022
Not bad choices.
— Chalky Black (@BChalkyBlack) October 26, 2022
Let’s hope this crew can live up to expectations.
