Here’s the deal with MLB umpires:
I recognize all their names, but I don’t remember who they are. Rare is the occasion when an umpire is mentioned on a broadcast and I say, “Who is that?” Frequent is the occasion when an umpire is mentioned on a broadcast and I say, “Wait. Is that one of the good ones or the bad ones?”
What this means, regarding Friday’s Pat Hoberg news, is that 1) I didn’t remember that he was the guy who umped a perfect game in a World Series and 2) I didn’t notice that he hadn’t umped at all this year. I guess we should add a 3) here. The 3) is that 3) I always pictured Pat Hoberg as older, and as fatter. I pictured him with thicker jowls. Pat Hoberg’s a young guy! I guess that explains the good eyesight. And the ability to navigate a sportsbook app.
Anyway, I think we can all agree on what happened here. Pat Hoberg is perfectly innocent. He was framed by robot umpires. Where did Pat Hoberg bet? An app (probably). What is an app? A robot, sometimes even one run by Artificial Intelligence. This is like a spray-paint can accusing the president of graffiti-ing a racial slur on the White House. Except if the vice president was also a spray-paint can.
Sam Altman has been conspicuously silent.
