Umpire Extremes in MLB - Will They Continue?
by Kyle Hunter
Friday, Jun 27, 2025I keep a close eye on home plate umpire statistics in a database. These home plate umpires have a major role in how the games go with the power they have behind the plate. I want to look at five umpire extremes so far this year. Are these extremes likely to continue or not? Let’s take a look. Cory Blaser (13 Unders 3 Overs) Blaser has been calling a bunch of low scoring games this year. He has a pretty high strikes called rate of 65.05%. He has a very high strikeout/walk ratio of 3.90. These are two key long term signs of an under umpire. Blaser also has a history of being a strike caller that dates back many years. While I don’t expect him to continue at this kind of a rate to the under, this is an umpire that the pitchers should be happy to see behind home plate. Marvin Hudson (13 Unders 3 Overs) Marvin Hudson has been an over umpire on the whole in the last 6-8 years. Hudson has a low 2.39 strikeout/walk ratio and has a called strike percentage of 63.57% this season. He has had a bunch of low scoring games this year, but based on his consistent history of calling fewer strikes than the average umpire, I wouldn’t expect this trend to continue. Scott Barry (10 Unders 3 Overs) To be completely honest, Scott Barry has gone back and forth frequently in recent years. He appears to be an over umpire at times, and at other times he looks like an under umpire. Barry has a strong under record this year, but his strikes called percentage is nearly the lowest in the majors at 62.46%. His strikeout/ratio is very low at 2.02. Barry carried just a 2.03 strikeout/walk ratio last year as well. I wouldn’t expect the under to keep doing too well with Barry. Andy Fletcher (10 Overs 7 Unders) Fletcher was a whopping 24-9 to the over last season. He has a relatively low called strike percentage and strikeout/walk ratio over the last three seasons. There has been an average of 10.18 runs per game in his games this year. The average amount of runs in his games last year was 11.56. Fletcher is at least a bit of an over umpire. Lance Barrett (11 Overs 3 Unders) Barrett’s games have seen an average of 10.73 runs per game this season. He is near the MLB average in strikes called percentage. Barrett was 20-12 to the over last year, but he had a very high strikes called percentage. His long term numbers don’t suggest that this kind of over run will continue. I would look for these numbers to even out.
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