Hold Umps Accountable
Last night, on a chill Los Angeles spring eve, Major League umpire Phil Cuzzi decided to make it all about him.
Welcome, once again, to the Ump Show.
Cuzzi’s missed strike calls, per Ump Scorecards, cost the Twins 1.39 runs. The Twins lost the game by 1 run. Cuzzi might as well have been wearing white and blue. He gave the game to the Dodgers.
What can be said about Major League umps that hasn’t already been said? Twins announcer, and former pitcher, Glen Perkins lobbed a direct shot at Cuzzi on Twitter: “No recourse for Phil Cuzzi being horrendous at his job.”
My solution is simple: the MLB needs to force Major League umpires to hold post-game press conferences.
During a critical at-bat in the 10th inning, the Twins had the bases loaded with one out. Cuzzi struck out first baseman Alex Kirilloff with two called strikes that were each 3 or more inches outside of the zone.
The strike three call was so inside, Kirilloff backed out of the way of the pitch. Despondent after the call, he looks back at Cuzzi, who only nods. We can’t know what Cuzzi said, but I imagine it was something like: “That call was very correct. Do not question the authority of the Phil Cuzzi.”
They were calls so egregious that announcers on both the Twins and the Dodgers side called out Cuzzi during the game.
Dodgers announcers, despite being on the winning side of those calls, said “Boy oh boy, Phil Cuzzi just made being a Major League hitter way harder than it already is.”
They followed up with a simpler statement: “That’s impossible for a hitter.”
Twins announcers chimed in on their broadcast.
“He never had a chance in that at-bat,” said the normally jovial play-by-play announcer Dick Bremer. His colleague, and Twins Hall of Famer, Justin Morneau added under his breath: “That’s not good.”
“In a key spot,” an incensed Bremer went on, “you’ve got to be better than that.”
The post-game Ump Scorecard proved what we already knew.
Two of the most consequential pitches in determining the outcome of the entire game were those two to Kirilloff. (This doesn’t even take into account the horribly botched “fair ball” call in the bottom of the 8th that let the Dodgers re-take the lead.)
Again, the Twins lost by 1 run, and Cuzzi, statistically, took that away from them. I don’t know how much clearer that has to be.
This is my call to force the crew chief to hold a press conference after each game, with press corps from each team in attendance. Make it a required ten minutes per team.
If umpires care about their job, in any capacity, they should want to speak for themselves. We’ve seen this before, when ump Jim Joyce admitted he busted a perfect game with a bad call. That was over ten years ago, and I can think of zero other examples of umpires eating crow.
Would this change the outcome of the game? Clearly, no. Would it prevent future errors? Maybe, maybe not, but it would compel umps to face their mistakes.
Pressure umps to answer questions. If they want to host The Ump Show, give them an audience of reporters.
