I’m just 100% being a hater, but it would not shock me if the braves had something going on lol. Just video game numbers.
It has been my position for years now that if both managers agree they should be able to throw out an ump for cause. I can not believe Hernandez still has a job in MLB. When will enough be enough? If the union wants to keep him the league should ban union umps. Angel Hernandez should never be allowed near a ball game again.
Its just an archaic situation. There was a time (A LONG TIME AGO) where baseball umpires making judgement calls based on eyesight and hunches was required. There was no other way of verifying. Then TV got better... then TV got REALLY better... then TV got so good with camera angles everywhere that they had no choice but to accept replay. Now not only is TV and came angles basically unlimited, but social media has allowed every bad ump call to go viral... and the social media websites that track umpire's performance is also now extremely transparent. I understand not throwing the entire process or union out simply because we have technology now... but the fact that their role can be reduced thanks to modern-day methods, and the most important thing is that the call on the field is correct, just makes this too much of an inevitability that they just figure out how to train/keep the best guys around, incorporate technology to its fullest, and don't give these guys jobs for life. Honestly, eyesight and reflexes are extremely important to be a baseball umpire... and those things measurably go down as one gets older. There is no point. As far as check-swings go, I actually feel like they need to fully clarify that rule and institute a laser system that can definitively measure when the bat passes through the zone as a swing. I've actually seen far too many calls the other way (clear swing... but umpire feels they checked it, in the 0.4 second judgement call that they're making from over 90 feet away.
CBA's only affect this issue if you are willing to subjugate your business and your team to a union with no power whatsoever. The owners and the players would both be happy to control the umps without their union. Put them all on the FHA program and begin next season without them. They can apply for a job if they have a reasonable record making accurate calls but union affiliation will no longer be linked to employment.
