In a game that kept fans on the edge of their seats, it wasn’t just the players feeling the heat — home plate umpire Brian Walsh found himself in the line of fire after his performance during the Yankees' loss to the Astros on Wednesday night.

Criticism poured in as Walsh ejected both pitcher Devin Williams and Yankees manager Aaron Boone for voicing their frustrations over a slew of missed calls. And the backlash didn’t stop there; analytics site umpscorecards.com gave Walsh a dismal rating, stating that his calls favored the Astros by a significant 1.4 runs.

The Impact of Poor Umpiring

This 1.4 run advantage reveals the profound effect an umpire can have on the outcome of a game. To put this into perspective, no other umpire's performance on the same night came close; the next-largest discrepancy was only 0.68 runs in the game between Baltimore and San Diego.

What’s more alarming is that Wednesday night marked the worst officiating bias Walsh has displayed this season. His previous games had never seen a disparity exceeding 1.01 runs, indicating a troubling pattern.

A Game Marred by Controversy

This isn’t the first time Walsh has been scrutinized in 2023. Back in July, he found himself in hot water during a matchup between Baltimore and Toronto when a clearly center-cut pitch was inexplicably called a ball. Broadcasters Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald were visibly outraged, with Brown exclaiming, "That’s literally right down the middle!" McDonald echoed the sentiment, questioning how such an obvious call could be missed.

As tempers flared on the field, it’s clear that both Boone and Williams would wholeheartedly agree with the chorus of disgruntled fans and analysts alike.