Jim Wolf and Chris Guccione are the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League's 2011 noteworthy umpires of the year.
In his 13th Major League season, Jim Wolf had one ejection and was selected to umpire his first Championship Series.
In Wolf's sole ejection of 2011, the original Quality of Correctness ("correct") was challenged based on a balls and strikes exemption. Despite criticism directed at Wolf's zone, the correct Quality of Correctness was confirmed: Wolf had umpired the corresponding half-inning at a rate of 13-for-13, or 100%.
UEFL'er highschoolump described Wolf as an "all around good umpire, well liked, a rising star." Wolf has been hailed as one of the more amiable umpires in Major League Baseball, exemplified by this mic'd up segment broadcast during Wolf's 2011 ALCS plate assignment.
Indeed, Wolf has made his way up the MLB umpiring ladder. By working his first Championship Series in 2011, Wolf is now eligible for a World Series selection.
In his 10th Major League season (3rd on the full-time roster), Chris Guccione finished with three ejections at 100% accuracy and worked his first MLB All-Star Game followed by his second consecutive Division Series.
During our discussion of Guccione's ejection of Buck Showalter, baseball broadcasters were against thrust into the spotlight, criticizing Guccione for what some commenters described as a "no doubter" of a check swing call. Matt further speculated, "No wonder that the average baseball fans think that the umpiring in MLB is subpar, simply because they have been incorrectly told so by these clueless announcers."
Guccione was praised by UEFL'ers for consistency and for his continued development and improvement during his time on the full-time staff: "Guccione is an umpire who has made great strides in recent years. He has some of the best mechanics in the game as well."
Jim Wolf now has 5 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (2 Previous + 3 Award = 5).
Chris Guccione now has 17 points in the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League (14 Previous + 3 Award = 17).
The final postseason award, Umpire of the Year, will be released tomorrow.
3 comments :
Wolf was a shoe in for this kind of an award this year, that much is clear. I didn't really pay attention to Guccione, but it's difficult to argue with his stats: 1st All-Star Game and second straight DS selection out of three years on the full-time list. That's pretty good. Hadn't thought about him.
It's great to see Guccione get this recognition. He is a fine young umpire that continues to grow and develop. Wolf is classy all-day everyday, definately a future crew chief.
I wish MLB would stop running out of XL And L shirts. You would think, with Wolf's time, he would not have to wear mediums.
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