We’re often quick to point out when Major League umpires are bad at their jobs, and they deserve to be called out for those inexcusable mistakes. But at the same time, umpires deserve credit for a great showing.
And on Tuesday, umpire Junior Valentine came stunningly close to making some umpiring history.
Valentine was working behind the plate for the Royals’ game against the White Sox. And according to Umpire Scorecards, Valentine nearly became the second umpire to call a perfect game since accuracy tracking started. To date, the only perfect game was called by Pat Hoberg during the 2022 World Series. For Valentine, a clear bad call in the first inning was the difference.
Umpire: Junior Valentine
Final: White Sox 4, Royals 2#WhiteSox // #WelcomeToTheCity#CWSvsKC // #KCvsCWSMore stats for this game 👇https://t.co/C2HorIgJ1i pic.twitter.com/09KJPbNVDv
— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) May 10, 2023
Out of the 111 taken pitches in the game, Valentine called 110 of them correctly. His lone missed call was a strike to Salvador Perez in the first inning despite Seby Zavala setting up a target well off the plate on an 0-0 count.
2023 UMPIRE PERFECT GAME ATTEMPT THREAD STARTS HERE
it's our first One Missed Call game of the season! it is worth noting that 111 called pitches is an unusually low number of pitches for an umpire to call in a game so this isn't quite as impressive. still a strong performance https://t.co/LQQqLDbg2w pic.twitter.com/HT8Xm7uL1H
— Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) May 10, 2023
I’m not sure how he can miss *that* call and then go perfect, but Valentine would probably want another chance at calling that pitch.
Still, it was an incredible night for the umpire, exceeding his previous best game of 98 percent (three missed calls) last season. Fans had to give Valentine recognition for the epic performance.
This was how Twitter reacted
This, this is a work of art https://t.co/K4jxNt0foy
— Jonah Acheson (@AchesonJonah) May 10, 2023
this is beautiful 🥺 https://t.co/bpmcrlp6dM
— Kevin Keneely (@KevinKeneely1) May 10, 2023
Masterclass, other umps need to take notes https://t.co/7V3ufFOsw4 pic.twitter.com/hhqgSUUU92
— Mikey Jimerson (@MikeyJimerson) May 10, 2023
So close 😩 https://t.co/xgDr2G87Pd
— Shaun Fisher (@fishafevah0211) May 10, 2023
Roboumps have arrived https://t.co/lbt0WDkLZE
— vinny güddoggo (@VinPickles) May 10, 2023
This should be celebrated, like hitting for the cycle https://t.co/S68yPhjhPy
— Eric Barnes (@ericcbarnes) May 10, 2023
Wow. Junior Valentine so close to a perfect game for an ump. Missed one call in the first inning with one out and no one on base and the first pitch of the at-bat. That was it. https://t.co/chGwqJDvQ7
— TexasTwinsfan (@TXTwinsfan) May 10, 2023
umpire masterclass https://t.co/eW2OaL6XRf
— Jacob🦃 (@jacob_taylor03) May 10, 2023
Holy masterpiece, batman. That's incredible. https://t.co/H2g2JQJj98
— Hannah Rae (@HRaeIsAwesome) May 10, 2023
Junior Valentine called 8 pitches correctly, missed one, then called another 102 without an error. 👏🏻 https://t.co/pLpVfSAZzq
— gαя∂єη ѕтαтє ωαяяισяѕ (@ABL_GSDubs) May 10, 2023
https://t.co/PBaKDrs2Sl pic.twitter.com/hhcLC7oRzw
— ⚫️𝗪𝗦𝗫𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧⚪️ (@wsxmatt) May 10, 2023
https://t.co/2mirHE2XEW pic.twitter.com/kjzZ5PDyHs
— Christopher Soto (@SotoC803) May 10, 2023
Of course, with an automated strike zone, every game would be like this. But that’s not to take away from Junior’s night — he was great.
