Last Updated: June 17th, 2026 by Michael Griffin
I’m going to start this by acknowledging how difficult being an MLB umpire is, especially behind the plate. Every call is bound to make at least one team mad. That being said, the umpires on this list combine a stunning disregard for the strike zone with a short fuse. The results are people who are more content to make the game about them than to be an impartial arbiter. Here are 12 of the worst of them.
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12. Ángel Hernández: The Patron Saint of Bad Calls
This iconic image of Kyle Schwarber screaming at Angel Hernandez sums up the umpire’s MLB tenure. He was the king of bad strike calls – he once rang Ike Davis up on a pitch that was in the opposite batter’s box. Teams had to know they were in for a long day when Hernandez’s crew came to town. On top of that, he once sued the league for not getting postseason games, and the courts had to tell him, “Um. No. It’s not discrimination. You’re that bad.”
11. Joe West: The Cowboy Who Couldn’t See Straight
“Country Joe” was always willing to make himself part of the game, ranging from staring down Madison Bumgarner to tossing Mark Buehrle after calling him for a balk twice. He thought he was part of the show rather than blending into the background. Then again, he was in show business. He was one of the umpires in The Naked Gun, the one with Leslie Nielsen, not the upcoming reboot.
10. C.B. Bucknor: Baseball’s Walking Strike Zone
Another King of Bad Strike Calls, C.B. Bucknor is another umpire with an overinflated sense of self-worth. If he’s behind the plate, chances are good of at least one argument going off the rails. A manager even begged him to retire. He was 62 as of this writing, so maybe that’s not a bad idea.
9. Laz Díaz: Consistently Inconsistent
Laz Diaz is someone who is wholly unafraid of confrontation and even brings it about. He has a drill sergeant mentality, but there have been occasions when he’s owned up to making mistakes, like he did with Wyatt Langford after a horrible strike call.
8. Phil Cuzzi: The Human Head-Scratcher
Phil Cuzzi is another example of the power of the umpire’s union. He’s regularly made bad calls, including that one egregious foul ball call in the 2009 ALDS that robbed Joe Mauer of a possible double. More than a decade later, he’s still at it.
7. Manny Gonzalez: The Master of Missed Moments
Manny Gonzalez has a knack for making the wrong call at exactly the wrong time. His strike zone seems to shift with the wind, and it makes fans wish umpires could be fined or demoted to the Minors. You never forget a Manny game—you just wish you could.
6. Bob Davidson: “Balkin’ Bob” and His Parade of Mistakes
If Bob Davidson was a timebomb, he would always be set at :01. Balkin’ Bob (named for his propensity for calling balks WAY more often than his peers) was always ready to engage in screaming matches with players and managers. He was even suspended for instigating arguments. The volatile ump would eject fans, too, and he even gave Expos mascot Youppi the boot.
5. Eric Gregg: Large Presence, Larger Misses
Eric Gregg was someone who was known for having a strike zone bigger than his body. Witness his performance in Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS for an idea of that. He must have had dinner reservations that night. But he was someone who was consistently in the thick of arguments his whole career.
4. Jerry Meals: Mr. “Are You Sure?”
While Jerry Meals is most known for that horrible safe call that robbed the Pirates of a win in a 19-inning game, he’s extremely erratic behind the plate. Both teams know that there might be a point when he blows a call against them.
3. Doug Eddings: The Strike Zone Shapeshifter
Doug Eddings’ strike zone is like a mood ring—always changing, rarely accurate. He keeps pitchers guessing and hitters fuming, and you can almost hear the collective sigh when his name is shown on the scoreboard before the game begins.
2. Ron Kulpa: The Hot-Headed Boss of the Plate
Ron Kulpa, who was the ump that Carl Everett headbutted, has never been afraid to wield the power that the baseball rules give him. Couple that with an ever-shifting strike zone and you’re going to have a lot of arguments.
1. Rob Drake: Drama in a Mask
Rob Drake brings a sense of theater to every mistake—never just wrong, but wrong with flair. His strike zone has its own zip code, and his confrontations are legendary. Few umps can rile up a dugout quite like Drake.