The 5 most hated umpires in MLB history – ranked

There’s a lot of discussion about the future of MLB and how robot umpires will advance the game. Perhaps the need for technology in baseball has picked up due to the sullied reputation of the sport’s worst umpires. We’ll look at the five umpires that have been called out the most over the years.

Wendelstedt has had some rough moments behind the plate over the years. He once threw New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone out of a game for something a fan in the stands actually said, as captured by Newsweek. Jon Paul Hoornstra noted, “Rather than admitting the mistake or apologizing, umpire Hunter Wendelstedt doubled down and tried to justify his actions.”

Former major league manager Ozzie Guillen told NBC Sports Chicago, “I wish I punched him in the face. He’s the first guy to kick me out of a game in the big leagues, with no reason. His dad, he was a legend. I said, ‘you know what? You’re not a pimple on your daddy’s behind. I told him that.’”

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Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas told ESPN after a perceived Wendelstedt bad call in August 2024, “I think this guy has seen this play a million times, and he just wanted some part of, I don’t know, part of a moment in the game.”

It’s not often that umpires can cost players chances at history, but that’s exactly what Joyce did in a 2010 game. Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game with two outs in the ninth inning, when a Cleveland player hit a slow groundball to first. The runner was out by a mile, but Joyce called him safe, and Galarraga’s perfect game was no more.

There were no challenges in MLB at that point in time, so the result had to stand. For what it's worth, Joyce expressed a lot of contrition for his monumental mistake that day. He told ESPN, “I think about it still, almost every day. I don’t want to be known as Jim Joyce, the guy that blew the perfect game. But I think that’s inevitable.”

Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland yelled out to Joyce immediately after the blown call, saying, “Jimmy! You blew it! You blew it, go look at the video!” Joyce and Galarraga became close after the memorable play, but Joyce’s mistake will live on forever.

White Sox announcer John Schriffen exclaimed during an April 2024 game, “You gotta give him that! That’s strike three! You have to call that. Where are we as a game if you don’t call that strike three.” Laz Diaz was behind the plate that fateful night, and Schriffen’s ire has been shared by many fans all over the league.

Blake Schuster of USA Today Sports wrote, “He has all the telltale signs: He’s a household name, has argued with just about every manager over the last decade and makes baffling calls.”

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Connor Toole took a deeper dive into Diaz’s performance in recent years, and it has left a lot to be desired. He wrote in November 2023, “If you remove the umpires who’ve retired from the equation, Diaz is tied with Ed Hickox for the worst accuracy over a five-year span.”

We should have seen it coming. ESPN reported back in 2010 that Bucknor was voted as the worst umpire in a poll of players. Things have only gotten worse for Bucknor since. In 2017, MLB commentator Ray Knight said, “This guy’s struggled forever. I’m just gonna be candid with you, he has never been a good umpire. And I hate to cut people down, but gosh darn, how long are they doing to go with this guy?”

Divac once wrote for Medium, “The Mount Rushmore of terrible umpires was built for C.B. Bucknor. In fact, I’m almost certain C.B. stands for ‘completely blind.’”

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol wanted better relations with Bucknor in 2023, so he approached him to shake his hand in a 2023 spring training game. Bucknor refused, which led Marmol to tell FanSided, “I don’t think he’s very good at this job, and he has zero class as a man.”

It doesn’t seem like anyone even comes close to Hernandez in the most hated umpire discussion. Hernandez has run away and hid with the distinction. One major league manager told the New York Post, “You just pray to God that the screwing doesn’t come in the ninth inning and cost you a ballgame.”

Former MLB pitcher Pedro Martinez said, “Angel was horrible. Don’t get me going on Angel now. MLB needs to do something about Angel. It doesn’t matter how many times he sues MLB, he’s as bad as there is.” Fellow former pitcher C.C. Sabathia said, “I don’t understand why he’s doing these games. He’s always bad. He’s a bad umpire.”

One MLB player told Yahoo Sports after Hernandez retired, “I don’t think many players disliked him as a person. He was just so bad at his job.” Jake Mintz wrote for Yahoo, “Inside the game, Hernandez was more of a punch line, the source of jokes rather than vitriol.” With that said, Hernandez’s lack of proficiency at this job made his performance infuriating.

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