Pat Hoberg
| Pat Hoberg | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Hoberg in 2014 | |
| Born: September 11, 1986 Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. | |
| MLB debut | |
| March 31, 2014 | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 17, 2023 | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Special Assignments
|
Patrick Hoberg (born September 11, 1986) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire.
Hoberg rose to prominence as the home plate umpire for Game 2 of the 2022 World Series, during which he did not make a single incorrect ball or strike call. Less than two years later, he was out of the league after being accused of gambling on sports.
Career
[edit]A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Hoberg graduated from Urbandale High School and Grand View University.[1]
Hoberg made his Major League debut in 2014, and was one of four umpires promoted to the full-time staff in February 2017, upon the retirements of Bob Davidson, John Hirschbeck, Jim Joyce, and Tim Welke.[2]
For the 2018 regular season, he was found to be a Top 10 performing home plate umpire in terms of accuracy in calling balls and strikes. His error rate was 7.93 percent. This was based on a study conducted at Boston University where 372,442 pitches were culled and analyzed.[3]
In August 2021, Hoberg was assigned as the home plate umpire for the inaugural Field of Dreams game between the New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox in Dyersville, Iowa.[citation needed]
Perfect game
[edit]On October 29, 2022, during Game 2 of the 2022 World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, Hoberg called a "perfect game" with 129 of 129 taken pitches called correctly, the first such game since MLB began tracking pitch locations using Statcast in 2015.[4][5] Hoberg was widely regarded as the best ball-strike umpire in MLB.[6]
Gambling investigation
[edit]On June 14, 2024, MLB announced that Hoberg was disciplined following an investigation into a violation of the league's gambling rules. Hoberg appealed the decision, denying having bet on baseball. He did not umpire any games during the 2024 season.[7] It was later revealed that the investigation began in February, and he was initially fired on May 31.[6]
Hoberg appealed this decision, but his firing was upheld by the MLB on February 3, 2025. The investigation revealed that the umpire shared betting accounts with a friend, and that the friend used the account to bet on MLB games, including games Hoberg umpired; there is no evidence that Hoberg showed bias as an umpire.[8] Hoberg also allegedly deleted evidence pertaining to the league's investigation.[6]
References
[edit]- ↑ Birch, Tommy (April 5, 2014). "Sunday Stretch: Urbandale umpire Hoberg gets MLB break". Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ↑ "4 new umps as Hirschbeck, Welke, Davidson, Joyce retire". Associated Press. February 22, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2025.
- ↑ Williams, Mark T. (April 8, 2019). "MLB Umpires Missed 34,294 Ball-Strike Calls in 2018. Bring on Robo-umps?". BU Today. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
- ↑ Weisman, Max (October 30, 2022). "MLB umpire Pat Hoberg praised for calling 'perfect game' in World Series". New York Post. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ↑ "2022 World Series: Umpire Pat Hoberg called perfect game in Astros' Game 2 win". Fox Sports. November 1, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Rogers, Jesse (February 3, 2025). "MLB upholds firing of ump for gambling violations". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 3, 2025.
- ↑ Passan, Jeff (June 14, 2024). "MLB Disciplines Umpire Pat Hoberg". ESPN. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
- ↑ Castrovince, Anthony (February 3, 2025). "MLB's dismissal of umpire Pat Hoberg upheld following appeal". MLB.com. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
External links
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