When the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies play Game 1 of the World Series on Friday, fans will expect MLB to assign a competent referee. After all, there is nothing worse than affecting a true champion with a bad referee. The World Series crew is — at least on paper — as we’ve come to expect.
On Wednesday, Major League Baseball announced its seven umpires, of which Dan Assonia will serve as team leader. James Hoye, Tripp Gibson, Jordan Baker, Lance Barksdale , Alan Porter and GOAT Pat Hoberg will join him.
The World Series judges have announced… pic.twitter.com/0aQjYgeUek
— Ryan Fagan (@ryanfagan) October 26, 2022
Now, this is a solid crew. According to the umpire’s scorecard analysis, Hoberg and Gibson ranked first and third respectively in after-hours accuracy. The only two referees on this team to have played outside the top 30 were Iassogna and Hoye, so games one and three could end up frustrating for both teams. But Holberg and Gibson should provide the referees you want for World Series games.
According to @UmpScorecards, 12 of the 20 players who scored home plate assignments in the @MLB division series ended the regular season with The overall accuracy rate ranks in the top three. Only 1 Dan Iassogna came in third from the bottom. He dominated Game 3 of the CLE-NYY series. pic.twitter.com/v2CP9drvvz
– Referee Scorecard Analysis (@UmpAnalysis) October 11, 2022
Overall, fans are at least happy to see Hoberg’s name on the cast. He is rapidly building a reputation as the best referee in Major League Baseball.
