ELKA PARK, NY — The scenery is spectacular in this Hunter Mountain-adjacent, hippie-dippie haven. The panoramic views from the mountaintops are spectacular, even for those of us who weren’t exactly blessed with 20/20 vision.
And that, folks, allows us to segue — loosely, but we’re going with it — to today’s topics: MLB’s Blind Umpire and Baseball’s Eagle-Eye Catcher.
MLB’s Blind Umpire
Home plate umpire Bill Miller was left wondering where everything went wrong following the Reds’ 10-8 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday.
Miller, a 27-year veteran and crew chief, somehow managed to go 0-for-8 on ABS challenges.
That’s right. Eight challenges. Eight losses.
The Reds challenged three calls.
The Cubs challenged five.
And Miller successfully defended… absolutely none of them.
That’s not a bad night behind the plate. That’s a perfect game for the robot.
At some point, you have to wonder whether Miller was actually calling balls and strikes or simply guessing based on the vibes.
Perhaps the view from the umpire’s crouch isn’t quite as spectacular as the view from Hunter Mountain.
Of course, nobody expects an umpire to be perfect. That’s why Major League Baseball has implemented the Automated Ball-Strike system in the first place. But 0-for-8 is the kind of performance that makes you wonder if the umpire should have been wearing binoculars.
Or perhaps Miller simply needs a weekend in the Catskills.
Eagle-Eye Catcher
Meanwhile, on the other side of the equation sits Cincinnati catcher Tyler Stephenson, who appears to have developed a rather intimate relationship with the ABS system.
Stephenson has had 88 calls overturned on 124 challenges, leading all of baseball.
Think about that.
He’s not just catching pitches. He’s apparently auditing the umpire.
When Stephenson points toward the dugout and asks for a challenge, there’s a pretty good chance the umpire should start preparing his defense.
Stephenson’s success is especially ironic considering the catcher is traditionally responsible for framing pitches and making borderline balls look like strikes.
Now, thanks to ABS, he can simply say, in essence:
“Nice try, Bill. The computer says you’re wrong.”
Maybe that’s where baseball is headed. The catcher catches. The pitcher pitches. The batter swings. And the umpire? Well, perhaps he can just enjoy the scenery.
Because with numbers like these, Eagle-Eye Stephenson may be seeing the game better than everyone else.
