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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Andrew Joseph

Umpire Tripp Gibson justifiably impressed MLB fans with a near-perfect game behind the plate

Tripp Gibson MLB Kyle Muller Rangers

It’s undeniable that Major League umpires have an incredibly difficult job. They’re tasked with making split-second judgements on pitches with high velocity and movement — while also dealing with catchers who are elite at framing. That isn’t easy.

That’s why so many MLB fans want to see an automated strike zone because even the best games from human umpires wouldn’t measure up to *every* game from robot umps. Still, we have to give umpire Tripp Gibson credit because he came extremely close to a robot-caliber performance.

Working behind the plate for Sunday’s game between the A’s and Rangers, Gibson called 99 percent of the taken pitches accurately. Out of those 145 pitches taken, only two were called incorrectly — and they were borderline at that.

The first miss came in the first inning when Kyle Muller’s 3-1 pitch appeared to be a high strike. It was called a ball, and Adolis Garcia walked.

The second miss came in the following inning when a pitch that caught the plate was called a ball, but you can almost blame Muller for that one. The A’s pitcher missed his location, forcing Shea Langeliers to reach across the plate. You rarely see a pitcher get that call.

Outside of that, Gibson — who was the third-ranked ump last season and had a World Series assignment — was perfect on the afternoon.

Fans were impressed with his day behind the plate as well. It wasn’t another Pat Hoberg perfect game, but it was awfully close.

This was how Twitter reacted

MLB needs more umpires like that.

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