Thursday, May 19, 2011

Polls: Strike Mechanic

The Umpire Ejection Fantasy League wants to know: Which umpire has the best called strike and/or strike three mechanic? Baseball umpires can display highly individual traits, especially when calling balls and (especially) strikes. We've gone ahead and picked out a few umpires who have rather notable called strike and/or strike three mechanics and we ask, which mechanic is your favorite?

Previous Poll (Bowa) Results: Our previous poll, Polls: Bowa on Umpire Ejections, asked whether you thought TV analyst Larry Bowa was right in his recent commentary on umpires and ejections. Here's what you thought (Total Votes: 221):

  • 22% thought Bowa was right about West/Gardenhire... Joe was over the line
  • 35% thought Bowa was right about West/Francona... West should have let Hernandez deal with it
  • 34% thought Bowa was right about DiMuro... he should have asked for help
  • 25% thought Bowa wasn't exactly right about anything, but made some good points
  • 32% thought Bowa was dead wrong about all three instances

Current Poll: Which Umpire has the Best Called Third Strike Mechanic?
The poll is below, you may vote for only one option. Video links are available as well so that you may review each umpire's mechanics before making your selection. If you would like to add your own option to the poll, visit our Facebook Page; the Facebook poll's functionality allows you to add your own options! Poll results will be a combination of votes received on the UEFL blog as well as the UEFL Facebook page... yes, you can vote twice that way...

Which Umpire has the Best Called Third Strike Mechanic?

20 comments :

Anonymous said...

HAEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP!

Anonymous said...

A few great umps here. It's close, but Mike Winters gets my vote. Understated & classy beats the showboating Hallion & Bucknor everytime.

Anonymous said...

Davidson made this list? Really?

Jon Terry said...

Davidson would actually be my second choice, behind Hallion of course.

Dan said...

I love umpires that are vocal behind the plate, and there is no one more vocal than Jim Joyce. He lets everyone in the ballpark know what's going on, from the first row to the top row of the upper deck, and probably out in the parking lot, as well.

He's the polar opposite of Tim "The Human Rain Delay" McClelland.

I love Tom Hallion's strike three call also. I don't know how he doesn't throw out his back, the way he jerks his body around like that.

Dan said...

Phil Cuzzi strikes again in today's Mets/Nationals game, calling Jayson Werth out at first on a ground ball to third, when the first baseman Daniel Murphy's foot was off the bag:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14954163

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman came out to argue, but was not ejected by Cuzzi. He then went to home plate umpire, AAA fill-in Manny Gonzalez, before being escorted off the field by acting crew chief Bill Miller.

Incidentally, this was the first time I've ever seen Gonzalez behind the plate, and I thought he called a great game. He's very loud and demonstrative on his strike calls too, speaking of strike call mechanics.

Anonymous said...

The only thing I really enjoy about Dale Scott/Tim McClelland regarding the delay is top 9 two outs, bases loaded, 3-2 pitch looking... when it doesn't matter about the delay, the game doesn't end or tie until the call is made. Otherwise, the delay can be a liability for a team trying to make a play. Joe West does this as well... but his mechanic is too lazy.

clement30 said...

@Dan :: I went to a lot of MILB games in the past and saw Manny Gonzalez a lot...He calls a great game behind the can and is easy going on ejections. He lets the manager have their say, and then tosses them. Reminds me of Bellino a bit, but I like Manny even better. He's gonna be a good one in the MLB for a long, long time.

Anonymous said...

I like mcclelland's calm, cool, and collected style behind the dish...i'm sure he vocalizes loud enough for those who need to hear to hear...i've modelled my style on him- very quiet and somewhat unobtrusive as well. i've been asked by fans to be louder- and my answers have varied based on exactly how they make the request from me. the loud guys are entertaining, but that doesn't make them any better umpires. it's not the umpire's responsibility to make sure everyone in the park can hear the calls

Anonymous said...

Maybe a discussion about this? Haven't seen this before!
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14954163
Article: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2011/05/19/2011-05-19_umpire_phil_cuzzi_files_report_about_verbal_altercation_with_nationals_gm_mike_r.html

Jeremy Dircks said...

Dan, unless I'm mistaken (or the box score is mistaken), Manny Gonzalez had a MLB/AAA double header today. Hard to believe he went down to Charlotte after doing the MLB game, but this box score of the Toledo-Charlotte game says he was umping tonight. Long day of work for him, if that is the case with the altercation on the field and off the field with the Nats' GM.

Also happened to be an ejection in the game of Lastings Milledge after getting hit by a pitch for fighting with the catcher. The pitcher nor the catcher were ejected.

Anonymous said...

LOL @ Lastings Milledge getting ejected in a minor league game.

Dan said...

That's dedication to do a day game in New York, and then hop a plane to do a night game in Charlotte. Like I said, I was impressed with the job he did behind the plate in the Mets/Nats game, and I think we'll be seeing a lot more from him in the future.

On the confrontation after the game, Phil Cuzzi definitely and obviously blew that call. But it sounds like the Nats, especially their GM, took things a little too far after the game.

Although, it's a shame that Cuzzi can't be more like Jim Joyce, Gary Cederstrom, and some other umpires out there, and be a man after the game, and admit when he makes a mistake.

Anonymous said...

First of all, how do you know if he didn't admit to making a mistake after checking out a replay? It's not like the first thing umpires do after a game ends is to sprint back to the room and DVR back to the Coors Light Freeze Cam view of all close plays.

And speeaking of Joyce you'd be crazy if you think all umpires were happy with his conduct after the blown call last year.

At Citi Field, the umps entrance/exit is deep on the third base side, which takes them past the visitors dugout on their way off the field. That's where all of this probably happened. I wonder if Rizzo was this angry when the Nats got the benefit of a bad call erroneous tag call on Reyes following his triple in DC a few weeks ago. I think we know the answer to that.

Bottom line: The umpire giveth/the umpire taketh away.

Anonymous said...

Regarding the play at first in the Nationals game, there's a breakdown of this play at mlb.com:

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=14983953

Umpires have stopped working to get the best looks at plays at first base. If Cuzzi had gotten a 90-degree angle there, he'd be almost in the line between first and second and in a perfect position to see the foot come off.

I'm just a HS/college umpire, but I still take every play at first that way and I could be mistaken, but I think Evans still teaches that way at school.

Anonymous said...

I'm surprised Alfonso Marquez didn't make the list..His seems a bit unique.

Anonymous said...

I have always liked Bob Davidson third strike mechanic...Ed Rapuano's is different as well.

Anonymous said...

I don't think that is the best of Joyce's strike three call. I am changing my vote.

Jeremy Dircks said...

A note on the Cuzzi incident, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo and catcher Ivan Rodriguez were fined an undisclosed amount my MLB and the matter closed.

If we were taking non-MLB called strike three mechanics, I must present this HP Umpire from a Dominican league.

Anonymous said...

I have to throw in write-in vote.

Marvin Hudson looks great behind the plate. He is so crisp, great presence, and of course a strike three mechanic worth emulating. I would say I probably enjoy watching him work the plate the most of the MLB umpires.

Post a Comment