Lawrence Butler Rips Into Umpires: ‘They Don’t Give a [Expletive]’

Getty

A Major League Baseball umpire

Being an official in any sport is a thankless job.  

The spotlight is rarely kind, and the best measure of success is often invisibility. If no one’s talking about you, chances are you’ve done everything right. 

Well, Athletics outfielder Lawrence Butler has been talking about them, and it’s not because he wants to pass along his best wishes. 

But that certainly isn’t new. Umpires, referees, linesmen … whatever the title, they are often the target of angst. Players, coaches, fans – rarely is everyone happy with the calls that are made, and little, if any, consideration is given to how difficult the job truly is. 

Think about it. Officials live in a world of instant judgment — a split-second to rule on razor-close plays involving balls or pucks propelled at ridiculous speeds by athletes who are bigger, stronger and faster than they have ever been.  

And nowhere is that reality magnified more than in Major League Baseball.  

Lawrence Butler Voices Growing Angst Over Umpire Errors

Umpires are asked to adjudicate a game where the margin for error is microscopic and the scrutiny is relentless. A bang-bang play at first base can hinge on a runner’s foot hitting the bag a fraction of a second before the ball hits the glove, and tens of thousands of eyes in the stadium — plus millions more watching from home — see it unfold with the benefit of slow-motion replay.  

The umpire? He gets one look, in real time, and his call must be instantaneous. 

Behind the plate, the demands escalate even further. Home plate umpires are asked to track pitches exploding out of a pitcher’s hand at 95 to 100 miles per hour, many with late-breaking movement designed to fool the hitter — and, by extension, the umpire.  

According to an analysis cited by NPR, a baseball crosses the plate in less than 400 milliseconds, giving the human brain just a blink to process velocity, spin, location, and whether it grazes the strike zone or not. It’s a task that borders on impossible, yet it’s repeated hundreds of times each night. 

Technology has only heightened the tension.  

Fans now have access to live strike-zone graphics on every broadcast, and while those boxes aren’t perfect, they create the perception of precision. When an umpire’s call doesn’t match what the television graphic shows, outrage follows. And unlike in decades past, those missed calls don’t just spark grumbles in the stands — they’re clipped, shared, and dissected across social media within minutes. 

The result? Umpires are working in an environment where every mistake, real or perceived, is amplified. Which brings us to the current wave of criticism boiling over this season — none louder than from Butler, who just this week issued a strong call for the immediate rollout of the Automated Ball-Strike system. 

“I’m fed up with the umpires,” Butler said. “I’ve had enough with the umpires.” 

‘I’m Fed Up With Umpires:’ Lawrence Butler Calls for Immediate ABS Rollout

In an interview with MLBFits posted both to X (former Twitter) and Instagram, Butler was asked what he would change if he could be MLB Commissioner for one day. Without hesitation, he took the opportunity to dump on the men in blue. 

“They miss too many calls both ways,” he said. “They call strikes balls, balls strikes.” 

And in Butler’s view, the solution is already in place.  

“I want the challenge system with three, just like they do at Triple-A,” he said. “When you look at Triple-A, the umpires are a little bit more cautious of what pitches they call because they know a pitcher or a hitter might challenge it and it might embarrass them, so they might be a little more cautious to pull that trigger. I feel like up here, they don’t give a [expletive].” 

His comments landed because they echoed a growing sentiment around the league. Pitchers and hitters alike have grumbled for years about the widening strike zone, the inconsistencies from game to game, and the fact that careers can be altered by a single missed call.  

The Automated Ball-Strike system, already tested in the minors and used in the All-Star Futures Game, is no longer seen as a far-off experiment. For many, Butler included, it feels like an overdue solution.