Calling Perfection: Pat Hoberg’s Flawless Night In The World Series

Few figures in the chaotic theater of sports inspire more vitriol than the black-and-white-clad umpires who serve as both arbiters and scapegoats for America’s pastime. They are the judges, juries, and executioners of baseball, balancing the fragile scales of order in a game defined by inches. To expect perfection from an athlete is absurd. To demand it from an umpire is outright madness. Yet, on October 29, 2022, under the bright lights of Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas, Pat Hoberg shattered that madness and delivered the impossible: a perfect game behind the plate in Game 2 of the World Series.

Hoberg, a 36-year-old Iowan with the calm demeanor of a bomb disposal expert, had been quietly building a reputation as one of the most accurate umpires in Major League Baseball. This however, was Hoberg’s first World Series game—a debut that would etch his name into the annals of baseball immortality. Over the course of 129 consecutive pitches, Hoberg’s calls were flawless. Not a single ball or strike deviated from perfection. The Astros claimed a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies to even the series, but the real story was the man behind the plate—a mortal acting as the unflinching oracle of baseball’s truth.

The Game: A Clinic in Precision

The atmosphere in Houston was electric, the crowd still buzzing from the Phillies’ dramatic extra-inning win in Game 1 and the stakes were clear: the Astros needed a victory to avoid an 0-2 hole before the series shifted to Philadelphia. With that pressure simmering, Pat Hoberg took his position behind the plate, donning his mask like a knight preparing for battle.

The Astros wasted no time asserting themselves. The first inning was a clinic in offensive precision, with Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña, and Yordan Alvarez each smashing doubles off Phillies starter Zack Wheeler. By the time Wheeler recorded his first out, Houston was already up 2-0. Hoberg, unfazed by the early fireworks, began weaving his masterpiece, calling each pitch with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker.

On the mound for Houston was Framber Valdez, who delivered a dazzling performance over 6 1/3 innings, striking out nine and allowing only one run. His curveball dropped like a guillotine, his fastball sizzled on the edges of the strike zone, and Hoberg called every single one correctly. Valdez, a maestro in his own right, found his efforts mirrored by the man behind the plate.

Hoberg: The Perfectionist

Pat Hoberg’s journey to this moment had been methodical. A full-time MLB umpire since 2017, he had previously served as a reserve umpire in high-stakes games, including Game 1 of this very series. Earlier in the 2022 season, he had come heartbreakingly close to perfection, missing just one call in a game between the Phillies and Rockies. That miss—a strike called a ball—was the kind of blemish that haunts a perfectionist. But Hoberg had learned from it, honing his craft with monk-like dedication.

“I have to go out and perform now,” Hoberg had told the Des Moines Register before the World Series. “Do it to the best of my ability and hopefully that happens.” The understatement was pure Midwestern modesty, masking the ferocious focus required to call a flawless game.

A Night of History

By the time the ninth inning arrived, the game had settled into a tense rhythm. The Phillies managed a late rally, scraping together a run on a sacrifice fly in the seventh and another on an error in the ninth, but the Astros’ lead held. As the final out was recorded, Houston fans roared their approval, celebrating a critical victory.

But amidst the champagne sprays and postgame analysis, a quieter narrative began to emerge. Umpire Scorecards, the Twitter account that meticulously tracks umpire performance using MLB’s advanced pitch-tracking technology, confirmed what no one dared to believe: Pat Hoberg had called every single pitch correctly. The average umpire would have missed nine calls over 129 pitches. Hoberg missed none.

This wasn’t just an anomaly. It was an achievement bordering on divine. Hoberg’s strike zone was a Platonic ideal, an unassailable fortress of fairness in a game so often marred by human error.

Behold the insanity. Source: UmpScorecards.com

Cultural Impact

Baseball, perhaps more than any other sport, relies on its umpires as both arbiters and lightning rods. In the age of Statcast and instant replay, every call is scrutinized, dissected, and criticized in real time. For years, the conversation has leaned toward automation—replacing human umpires with machines capable of perfect accuracy. Hoberg’s performance was a rebuke to that notion. He proved that perfection wasn’t just possible for humans—it could be beautiful.

As the news of Hoberg’s feat spread, he became an unlikely hero in the baseball world. Players like Evan Longoria sang his praises on social media. Analysts marveled at his composure under the brightest lights. And fans, so quick to deride umpires for their mistakes, found themselves in the uncomfortable position of offering praise.

Simmering Scandal and the Chaotic Aftermath

In the aftermath of Game 2 of the 2022 World Series, Pat Hoberg’s name was etched into baseball lore. His perfect performance behind the plate—a flawless orchestration of 129 pitches without a single missed call—set a gold standard for umpiring in an era of hyper-scrutiny. In a world teetering on the brink of automation, where calls are analyzed and dissected by technology in real-time, Hoberg’s achievement stood as a testament to human skill and integrity. He wasn’t just an umpire that night; he was the steely embodiment of the MLB rulebook and a paragon of precision.

In the wake of that series, Hoberg’s reputation as the league’s most accurate umpire only grew. He became a fixture in postseason assignments, including the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and continued to deliver performances marked by consistency and poise. Yet, as baseball often reminds us, perfection comes with its own cruel ironies.

In June 2024, MLB announced that Hoberg was under investigation for violating the league’s gambling policies. According to MLB.com, “During this year's Spring Training, Major League Baseball commenced an investigation regarding a potential violation of MLB's sports betting policies by umpire Pat Hoberg,…Mr. Hoberg was removed from the field during the pendency of that investigation. While MLB's investigation did not find any evidence that games worked by Mr. Hoberg were compromised or manipulated in any way, MLB determined that discipline was warranted. Mr. Hoberg has chosen to appeal that determination.”

The news sent shockwaves through the sport. Hoberg, 37, denied betting on baseball and vowed to appeal MLB’s determination that discipline was warranted. While the investigation found no evidence that games he officiated were manipulated, the mere implication cast a shadow over his legacy. In a separate, unrelated incident, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred had emphasized the league’s zero-tolerance policy on gambling, describing it as a “bedrock principle” essential to protecting the game’s integrity.

Hoberg, once celebrated as the paradigm of precision, now found himself in the crosshairs of a controversy that threatened to overshadow his historic achievements. His statement reflected the gravity of the situation: “I have devoted my adult life to the profession of umpiring, and the integrity of baseball is of the utmost importance to me. I look forward to the appeal process.” According to the Action Network, as of October, 2024, the appeal is ongoing.

For many, Hoberg’s perfect game in 2022 remains untarnished—a singular moment of beauty and order in a sport rife with chaos. But the allegations against him are a reminder of the fragility of reputations in a world where even the smallest misstep can become a defining moment.

Whether Hoberg ultimately clears his name or not, his Game 2 performance will endure as one of baseball’s most extraordinary feats, a night when human error took a backseat to precision, and perfection wasn’t just a myth—it was real. And yet, as baseball marches forward, Hoberg’s story will be a cautionary tale, a juxtaposition of brilliance and vulnerability in a sport that demands both.