Did Carlos Correa Just Fix MLB Umpires with PitchCom?

Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins lost another close game to the Cleveland Guardians on Friday, with Jose Ramirez’s go-ahead home run serving as the final nail in the coffin. Classic.

Rocco Baldelli was pretty fired up after seeing home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz miss several calls, particularly on Jhoan Duran’s face-off with Ramirez, which included two balls that should have been called strikes. Umpire Scorecards backs up what the eye test showed originally revealed: Ortiz had a bad day behind the plate, if you’re a Twins fans anyway.

Umpire: Roberto Ortiz
Final: Twins 2, Guardians 3#MNTwins // #ForTheLand#MINvsCLE // #CLEvsMIN

More stats for this game 👇https://t.co/gReEWV4rv6 pic.twitter.com/4WsLK6HHxK

— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) May 18, 2024

After the game, Baldelli admitted he “wasn’t happy” with the officiating in the Guardians’ 3-2 win.

“I know there are some guys that are upset in the room and I’m not happy about it either. That’s tough to take and in one-run, very tight, low-scoring games, sometimes those things mean especially a lot. Today they ended up coming into play in a big way, unfortunately.”

Rocco Baldelli on MLB officiating in Twins’ 3-2 loss

Carlos Correa wants to see MLB equip umpires with PitchCom so they know what pitch is coming

While Carlos Correa has often had his moments of frustration too, he feels differently about MLB umpires. Specifically, Correa says, “their job is too hard” to be “harsh on them.” However, in this candid moment of support, Correa also offered a brilliant idea that could help improve baseball’s consistency behind the plate.

Per MLB.com’s Twins reporter Do-Hyoung Park, Correa suggested umps should be given PitchCom receivers to help them prepare for a more accurate reading on the incoming pitch. If they know what pitch is coming then they can focus more closely on where the pitch is when it crosses the plate, instead of being fooled or distracted by how the ball is moving on its way to the plate.

Rocco was pretty upset about the umpiring. Carlos Correa was more level-headed about it and suggested umps should get PitchCom receivers to help them set up to make a better call on the pitch that's coming.

Correa: "I just think their job is too hard for me to be harsh on them."

— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) May 18, 2024

Would knowing the expected location plus the pitch type help umpires better determine balls and strikes? It couldn’t hurt, right? While robot umps may or may not be coming to MLB, they already have the PitchCom devices on hand.

What’s the harm in seeing what happens when umpires are given more information to work with? It can’t get any worse. Wait… those are a baseball fan’s famous last words, aren’t they?

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