MLB umpire Mark Ripperger is receiving praise for how he called a recent game.
Ripperger was behind home plate for Thursday’s game between the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins. While the Royals’ shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.’s sacrifice fly broke the tie in the seventh inning, much of the talk after the game was about Ripperger.
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July 9, 2023; San Francisco, California: Home plate umpire Mark Ripperger (90) before the first inning of the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park. (Robert Edwards-USA Today Sports)
The umpire was credited with calling a “perfect game,” which is something that reportedly has happened just one other time in the Umpire Scorecards era.
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Umpire Scorecards compile the major league’s advanced pitch-tracking data to rate how accurate an umpire was during a given game. The data also considers how an umpire’s call impacts the game.
Ripperger made calls for 136 pitches on Thursday. According to Umpire Scorecards metrics, he called every pitch accurately.
The MLB logo on the on-deck circle at Great American Ball Park on September 18, 2023, in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Kansas City trailed Minnesota by a run on Thursday before rallying in the seventh inning. Royals starter Michael Wacha pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two earned runs. He also struck out four batters.
Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. watches his sacrifice fly to score one run during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The Royals’ 2-3 win over the Twins on Thursday was followed by a 7-0 loss to the Guardians on Friday.
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Former MLB umpire Pat Hoberg is credited with the only other perfect game Umpire Scorecards has recorded. Hoberg accomplished that feat in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series.
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