Over at BBTiA, Joey Matschulat’s got an interesting look at plate umpire Greg Gibson, relative to the average plate umpire. I won’t insert the graphics here; you should take a look. But here’s the executive summary...
World Series Game 2: Umpire Scouting Report
Like most umpires, Gibson is better with pitches up in the zone with pitches down in the zone; this happens naturally, as the higher pitches are simply easier for the umpire to judge. However, Gibson also seems to be particularly weak on pitches that are high and inside -- but still within the strike zone -- and especially to left-handed batters.
What might explain this? Perhaps Gibson flinches, because those pitches are traveling straight toward his face. Perhaps he’s subconsciously hoping to discourage pitchers from coming up and inside to hitters. Or perhaps we’ve got a sample-size problem; these numbers are based on just the second half and the postseason, and perhaps a bit of regression is in order.
Watch tonight, though, and see if these trends continue.
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