Brian Walsh and two more umpires MLB cannot let work the playoffs

If third-year umpire Brian Walsh wants any good news, it’s that the baseball world has seemingly forgotten his viral, dreadful performance in a recent New York Yankees-Houston Astros game.

Unfortunately for Walsh, his recent blown calls could — and should — be the final straw that keeps him from working a postseason game. Social media has regularly exploded with clips featuring Walsh’s poor strike calls in recent weeks, with fans from some fanbases calling on him to be suspended or even fired. 

According to Umpire Scorecards, 63 umpires have called at least 25 games behind the plate this season. Although all of those umpires own at least a 92.7 accuracy rate, there are some (like Walsh) whose performances we feel should disqualify them from calling any playoff games.

For this list, we focused solely on full-time umpires who, based on their workload and experience, would likely qualify for an opportunity to work the postseason. That means that Jen Pawol, who became the first female MLB umpire in August, is ineligible for this list because she primarily works minor-league games.

Brian Walsh

Statistically speaking, Walsh is a middle-of-the-pack umpire who has been solid all season. In fact, seeing as his 94.17 accuracy rate tied him with D.J. Reyburn for 29th leaguewide at publication, Walsh is technically an above-average umpire despite his many miscues this summer.

However, those miscues are exactly why he shouldn’t work any postseason games. Between the debacle in Houston, an egregious third-strike call on Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte in July, and a strike call in a Toronto-Baltimore game that left Orioles announcers speechless, it’s hard to justify Walsh calling even a single pitch come October. 

To be clear, every umpire makes mistakes, and every umpire will blow a call or three, even if the automated ball-strike system is approved. Walsh’s mistakes have been so blatantly bad, though, and it’s concerning that several of his gaffes came in games involving the Astros. Major League Baseball cannot afford to have Walsh potentially work another Astros game and have his strike zone favor Houston, especially not in the playoffs.

Andy Fletcher

Fletcher’s 92.73 accuracy rate ranks worst of the 63 umpires who have called at least 25 games. He’s one of only three umpires, joining CB Bucknor (92.76 percent) and Laz Díaz (92.78 percent), with an accuracy rate under 93 percent.

Unfortunately for Fletcher, his low accuracy is nothing new. He’s consistently been below-average the last five seasons, and he’s never topped 94 percent since Umpire Scorecards began tracking data in 2015. Yet, the 58-year-old Fletcher was promoted to crew chief this past offseason, and one of his umpires, Malachi Moore, has a below-average 93.64 accuracy rate.

Fletcher’s poor performances haven’t stopped him from regularly working postseason games, including last year’s NLDS and World Series. Although our gut tells us that the 58-year-old Fletcher will be calling games this October, that doesn’t mean he’s earned the right. We’ll see whether Major League Baseball agrees or if they’ll prioritize adding another section to Fletcher’s extensive resume. 

Laz Díaz

Although Díaz hasn’t posted an accuracy rate exceeding 93 percent over the last decade, he actually met expectations when Umpire Scorecards began tracking data. Umpire Scorecards listed Díaz as an average umpire from 2015 through 2018, though he’s regularly ranked among the league’s worst umpires since.

To Major League Baseball’s credit, they’ve limited Díaz’s playoff workload in recent seasons. Díaz, a crew chief since 2022, last worked a postseason game during the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies-St. Louis Cardinals NL Wild Card Series.

Will Major League Baseball reverse course and throw Díaz a bone this fall? We’re admittedly unsure. On the one hand, it’s never a good look when a crew chief with 30 years of experience doesn’t call postseason games for three straight seasons. However, we’re also talking about someone who the data proves is one of the sport’s worst umpires. Cold, hard facts go much further in these discussions than simply complaining that an umpire ruled against your favorite team.

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