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PitchingNinja Rob Friedman Joins The Program To Discuss Modern Pitching, MLB Rule Changes, And Much More! | Don’t @ Me w/ Dan Dakich
Viral Baseball Analyst Rob Friedman, a.k.a. the PitchingNinja, joins Don’t @ Me w/ Dan Dakich to discuss his favorite MLB pitchers, who has the nastiest stuff, robo umps, the pitch clock, and much more!
The second half of the Major League Baseball season resumes tonight around the league, which means our three-day national nightmare without baseball is over
Whew. We made it. Felt like a lifetime!
The resumption of the season also spells the beginning of the end for three of the worst umpires in the league
That’s right
Third base umpire Jeff Nelson #45 steps in between manager Oliver Marmol #37 of the St Louis Cardinals and home plate umpire CB Bucknor #54 during an argument after Marmol was ejected during the third inning of a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on August 21, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona.(Norm Hall/
For Laz Diaz, Brian O’Nora and CB Bucknor, the second half of this MLB season is their final half … ever. Three veteran umpires, all retiring at the end of the season
And, of course, three of the worst-rated umpires in the entire league so far this year
There has been some bad umpiring in baseball this season
According to the (un)official MLB umpire report card site, umpscorecards.com, Diaz (8), O’Nora (7) and Bucknor (1) have been three of the worst-performing umpires this season. All three have already taken a buyout and will be “retiring” at the end of the year
Coincidence? Eh. You tell me!
Are they all just so far past their primes, and this is just the proof in the pudding? Perhaps
Or, are they all just mailing it in since the end is near? Sort of like we all did when were in our final semesters of our senior years
Senioritis is a real thing, you know?
Umpires Brian O’Nora and Laz Diaz speak on the field during the eighth inning of the game between the Washington Nationals and Miami Marlins at loanDepot park in Miami, Fla., on Sept. 9, 2025.(Megan Briggs/
Regardless, it’s not surprising to see those three make the list, especially Bucknor, who was so unfathomably bad at the beginning of the season it’s actually stunning they’ve allowed him to continue calling games
Seriously, it was remarkable:
Lordy. Just one of worst calls you’ll ever see. Amazing
Bucknor has the worst accuracy of any umpire in the league (91.33%), while O’Nora and Diaz are both just a shade over 92%. Seven umpires in total have accepted buyouts and will be retiring when the year ends
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The other four haven’t fared much better, by the way:
- Lance Barksdale (70th)
- Marvin Hudson (52nd)
- Tony Randazzo (No games called this season)
- Andy Fletcher (74th)
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Not the best, but certainly not the worst
And yes, everyone’s favorite punching bag — Jan Pawol — is currently the third-worst ump this season. Not sure she was offered the buyout, though
