Notice: Trying to get property 'display_name' of non-object in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-seo/src/generators/schema/article.php on line 52
keyboard_arrow_uptop

With two outs, Ben Zobrist batting, and Sean Rodriguez on first representing the tying run, Joe Nathan threw this 3-2, 82-mph curveball to end last night’s Rangers-Rays game and seal his 300th save:

And a million Rays fans (Are there that many Rays fans?) tweeted in terror and were suddenly silenced. With one called strike, the Rays’ win expectancy went from around 11 percent to zero.

I thought that pitch was outside. You thought it was outside. Brooks Baseball thought it was outside:

Joe Maddon thought it was outside, although unlike us, he might be suspended for saying so.

Joe Nathan, who benefited the most from the call, also thought it was outside.

And so, eventually, did home plate umpire Marty Foster, the man who made the call.

Sometimes when we talk about bad calls, we also talk about good pitch framing, but this isn’t one of those times. Pierzynski actually received the pitch pretty poorly, which may have contributed to the call. You can’t give the catcher credit for deceiving the umpire when his glove hits the ground.

So the question, really, isn’t “Did Foster make a bad call?” but “How bad a blown call was it?” The consensus on the internet in the immediate aftermath of the strike seemed to be that it was the worst blown call. (The internet isn’t known for its restraint.) After the game, I went on Facebook (a social media platform for popular people who have trouble keeping track of their many friends), and four of the five top posts on my News Feed were links to pictures or videos of the call, accompanied by comments expressing unfriendly feelings toward umpires. (The fifth post was a picture of a guy I talked to a couple times in college. He was riding a bicycle while wearing a big hat, and he wanted to share that with everyone.)

Was the internet overreacting? Well, let’s slow the pitch down a bit:

And now let’s stop it completely, at the very approximate point at which it crossed the plate:

It doesn’t look quite so bad now, and if I’d stopped it a frame earlier, which might have been just as accurate, it would have looked even better. (Because of how fast even a breaking ball travels, it's possible that no frame of video captured the ball precisely as it crossed the plate.)

There were at least three things, without looking at any other information, that made the call seem worse than it was:

  1. The offset center field camera, and the accompanying parallax effect
  2. The movement of the pitch after it crossed the plate, which made it look farther outside than it was when it mattered
  3. The fact that the call ended a close game

According to the raw PITCHf/x data, and Dan Brooks’ formula for determining distance from the center of the strike zone*, the pitch was 1.701 feet from center. What does that mean? Well, there were hundreds of pitches classified as called strikes from 2009-12 and recorded as crossing the plate farther from the center than that (not counting called strikes on 3-0, when the strike zone gets super-sized). Some of those—probably many of those—were PITCHf/x calibration errors or operator errors: pitches that weren’t as far from the strike zone as the measurements suggested, or pitches that were tagged as called strikes when really they were swinging strikes (or something else). I couldn’t watch them all if I wanted to, since not all the video is available, but let’s just assume that some calls in there, as recorded by PITCHf/x, were worse than Foster’s.

What if we narrow the sample to calls with two strikes? That’s much more manageable. The data says that 21 called strikes on two-strike counts in the past four seasons have been farther from the center of the plate than last night’s game-ending offering to Zobrist. I watched the first five, and the only one that A) is actually a called strike and B) looks like it might have been as far from center as the stats say was this one, a 3-2 pitch from Fernando Rodriguez to Cody Ross on August 21, 2011, with Fieldin Culbreth behind the plate:

 

That pitch, the numbers say, was 2.093 feet from the center of the strike zone. It doesn’t look like it’s that far, although the angle makes it tough to tell. (And it might not have been that far. Keep that in mind for a few more sentences.) But we’re splitting hairs here. Based on the raw PITCHf/x data, the internet was basically right, at least in its evaluation of last night's call, if not its response to it. That data suggests that while the strike to Zobrist wasn’t the worst call of the PITCHf/x era, it was on a fairly short list.

But. Raw PITCHf/x data isn’t park-corrected, and when we’re evaluating umpire calls, park corrections matter. As Mike Fast wrote a couple years ago, “Errors of an inch or two are sizable when grading umpire performance, and corrected location data would be useful in that application.” When we import PITCHf/x data into the BP database, we apply park corrections. And our best estimate of the PITCHf/x calibration error in Rangers Ballpark in Arlington last night is that the plate-x values were reported approximately two inches to the right (from the pitcher's perspective) of where the ball actually was. In other words, the pitch to Zobrist was two inches closer to the center of the plate than the raw PITCHf/x data indicated.

That’s significant. The margin of error of the PITCHf/x system is about an inch. The radius of a baseball is a little under 1.5 inches. And the park-corrected data suggests that the ball was only about half an inch outside the boundary of the typical left-handed hitter’s strike zone (which, remember, is shifted a couple inches outside to begin with, relative to the typical right-handed hitter’s zone). What that means is that it’s conceivable—not likely, but statistically possible—that some part of the ball nicked some part of the plate. If Foster were on trial, and the internet were trying to put him in prison for calling pitches poorly, his defense team could establish reasonable doubt that the pitch was not a strike.

Now, the pitch might also have been a bit low—again, it’s difficult to establish with certainty, for the same reasons. And because the pitch was both A) probably outside and also B) maybe a bit low, it was probably a ball and very likely to be called accordingly. According to Colin Wyers, the 50 closest pitches to the park-adjusted position of the pitch to Zobrist were called strikes 4 percent of the time. But 4 percent is not never. If not for the camera angle, the movement of the ball after it crossed the plate, the way Pierzynski received it, the importance of the situation, and the PITCHf/x park effects, this call might have been perceived as just regular bad, not a time to take out the pitchforks and torches.

(It’s also worth noting here that Foster’s strike zone is shifted even farther outside and down to lefties than the typical umpire’s:

All those colored rings outside the rectangle suggest that Foster is a good guy to have behind the plate when you’re a pitcher living on the outside corner to a left-handed hitter.)

So Foster’s call was very bad, but not historically so. Before you call for his head, I want to show you one other pitch. Some of you might take this as further evidence that umpires are awful. I prefer to take it as further evidence that calling balls and strikes correctly is really, really hard. I’m talking about the worst called ball of the PITCHf/x era:

This was a pitch thrown by Boone Logan to Joey Votto last May, with Larry Vanover behind the plate. It was 0.033 feet from the center of the strike zone—less than half an inch. It’s very difficult for a pitch to be more centered than that. And theoretically, it’s very difficult for a ball-strike call to be more clearcut than that. If you look at a still, it seems like an obvious strike:

But umpires don’t get to call strikes from stills, or by advancing video frame by frame. When we look at the pitch in motion, it’s not as obvious:

Yes, the pitch crossed the heart of the plate. But it was coming from an unusual angle, thanks to the LOOGY’s typical closed stride, so it was cutting across the plate rather than passing straight over it. Catcher Chris Stewart is a good framer, but he didn’t receive this pitch particularly well. And Votto led the National League in walks in each of the last two seasons, so if you’re going to give anyone the benefit of the doubt on what looks to you like a borderline call, it would be him. Oh, and the pitch was traveling at 94 miles per hour. It’s hard to track objects moving that fast. So even what should have been the simplest call of the past few seasons wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

Calling pitches isn’t quite as hard as hitting them—think about how often even the best batters fail to do that—but it’s still so difficult that in trying to do it, umpires are stretching the capabilities of human sensory systems. There are over seven billion people in the world, and the current crop of umpires probably doesn’t contain the absolute best of the seven billion’s umpire material, since not everyone in the world wants to be an umpire, or even knows what an umpire is. But the umpires we have are very, very good at umpiring, both because of their natural ability and their extensive experience. When they fail, it’s not because they aren’t trying, or because they’re unqualified. It’s because they’re human. Maybe they involuntarily blinked, or had to sneeze, or maybe their eyes were watering.  There’s no point in blaming the umpire for, basically, being one of us, but much better (at calling balls and strikes). Human beings didn’t evolve to play baseball, specifically, so we’re doing the best that we can.

If you like the “human element," presumably you’re pleased that a close game ended on a bad call instead of on the players’ own merits. (I’ve never been quite clear on how liking the human element works.) If you like the idea of “robo umps,” or supplementing the current system with some sort of technological aid, last night’s controversial call is another piece of evidence in support of your position. But as long as we’re operating under the current system, we have to accept that some small percentage of calls will be this bad, and some even smaller percentage of calls will be this bad and also potentially affect the outcome of a game. And then we have to decide whether we're enjoying baseball just as much as we would if we could count on all the calls. As it becomes increasingly clear that we no longer have to settle for uncertainty, the answer, for more and more of us, will be “no.”
 

* sqrt(px^2+abs(pz-2.575)^2)

Thanks to Dan Brooks and Colin Wyers for research assistance.

Thank you for reading

This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.

Subscribe now
You need to be logged in to comment. Login or Subscribe
canada
4/09
"Well, there were 135 pitches classified as called strikes from 2009-12 and recorded as crossing the plate farther from the center than that"

Does Jose Molina have a disproportionate amount of those?
bornyank1
4/09
Didn't check. I probably shouldn't mention Molina in every article.
jhardman
4/09
To your credit, you didn't mention his stolen base. I believe that is the actual reason for the craziness at the end of the game. Nathan, Pierzynski, and Marty Foster were all still in shock. :-)
canada
4/09
An article about the Rays, and pitches being called strikes but being out of the strike zone, you kind of have to, no? Just kidding.

I feel like any opposing hitter who has been the victim of a Molina frame-job might feel a bit satisfied with last night's occurrence.
ZacharyRD
4/09
Do you have any data on what percentage pitches called by the automated pitch calling cameras and algorithms, such as those used to create some of these charts, are accurate in comparison -- obviously the automated systems don't get it right 100% of the time either, and we're taking it as a given that they (incorrectly) are 100% accurate.
ZacharyRD
4/09
Has there been any research done in this area.
bornyank1
4/09
Well, in writing this, I was trying not to take that as a given. Take a look at the article I linked that the Mike Fast quote comes from.
ares1800jr
4/09
Where does the defend the plate mentality with 2 strikes fall? Does the strike zone increase with 2 strikes, or is it a figment of our imagination like unicorns, playing the game the right way or wanting it more than the other guy?
bornyank1
4/09
Click the link in the "strike zone gets super-sized" sentence to read more about that. The zone gets much smaller on 0-2.
davescottofakron
4/09
Ben, has any team installed pitchFx in a batting cage so hitters can practice their pitch selection? Maybe install a giant Gong to give them feedback?
cwyers
4/09
This is the sort of thing where if a team was doing it I doubt they'd tell us but I'm still highly confident in saying "probably not."
blue911
4/09
Check Foster's body movement.
LlarryA
4/09
There's a lot to be said for that. We're getting a handle on catcher positioning and movement, but let's not forget the umpires. In last night's Bucs/DBacks game, Dreckman wasn't moving much once he got set, but I'm not sure he actually lined up in the same spot twice (which is why I don't think he called the same pitch the same way twice, either...). It wasn't all his own fault -- Russell Martin moved around a little, but Wil Nieves was all over the place, both before and during pitches.
tcfatone
4/09
The call was WORSE than it looks in that still frame, due to the angle of the camera position. Were the camera straight on with the plate, it would appear much further outside the zone. The still shot is misleading in Foster's favor.
aaronef1981
4/10
^this
jedjethro
4/09
I see this same guy umpiring Little League and high school games all the time.
MattGeer
4/09
What would be the percentage of error for all Umpire calls then? Compared to percentage of error for pitchFx?
YUphoric
4/09
In all fairness, Foster was VERY inconsistent all night. Admittedly, I was watching the game on TV, with the offset camera angle, but I think he just had a bad game. It's too bad, that one of the more obvious bad calls ended the game, but that's the way baseball goes. I'm sure the Rays will get a few of those calls this year, too.
jcutiger
4/09
That pitch to Votto was an obvious strike - just a very poor job by the umpire. Interesting article. I'm getting to the point where it's time to take the human element out. Especially when you have lazy umpires that don't get in the right position to make a call. Have already seen a couple of calls this season that was obvious to everyone in the building and the guy closest to it got it wrong - happened on the first call of the year with Altuve (I think it was).
zbrady
4/09
I'm not sure why the parralex was used a a defense of the umpire, as this shift of the camera would make the ball appear closer to the strike zone than it actually was.

Notice the picture of the gas gauge in the link you referenced. The camera is offset to the right, looking at a target to its left. In Texas, the camera is offset to the right of the plate, looking left. On the gas gauge, the indicator appears further left than in reality. Likewise, the pitch appears further left than in reality, thus looking more like a strike than in actuallity.

tl;dr - Parralex in this situation benefits the umpire, not the dissenting public opinon
BurrRutledge
4/09
Can we see all the adjusted pitchfx 'down and away' calls to lefties from both teams, excluding any 0-2 and 3-0 counts?? Might help to establish whether Foster had any consistency for those pitches throughout the game...

Not that I'm making any excuses...

Thank you!
pobothecat
4/09
So, how's the guy in the hat doing?
bowerpower
4/10
Eric Gregg is not impressed.
Johnston
4/10
Another reason to let the machines and video make all the calls. Umpires are far too inconsistent, biased and prone to error.
huztlers
4/10
I don't think there is any value in freezing a pitch to make it look closer to a strike. Any pitch can be frozen from an angle to be made to look like a strike. I am not for bringing technology into the game but I am for holding humans accountable for their mistakes. Of course, where there is a powerful union, you will have no luck with that...
sandriola
4/10
Freezing the pitch was done to show where it was (or near, as Ben said) when it crossed the plate, as that's the point in time that matters for the pitch call. It wasn't being done to purposely show the ump in a better light. The movement of the pitch and poor reception by AJ tend to take the viewer's eyes away from where the pitch was when it crossed the plate.
aaronbailey52
4/10
I logged onto BP hoping to see a blog post or something on this topic. This surpassed my expectations.
barnes1212
4/10
No kidding. Ben, this article alone is worth the price of admission. :)
villapalomares
4/10
an overhead camera would solve the location problem, but i don't know if its feasible. i seem to recall an occasional overhead view on some tv broadcasts, but its rare.
Worthing
4/10
I seem to recall Skydome having the first "overhead camera." You have to get pretty high angle to see the plate over the umpire and catcher, and most stadiums probably don't have a spot for the camera at that angle, especially as newer stadiums have pushed back second and third decks from the field.

That said, if the NFL can get that tracking camera tracking all over the field, we should too. The ball will never hit the wires right?