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PrintThe last time we checked in, back on July 24, the ‘over’ had hit 19 of 20 times when umpire Paul Emmel was behind home plate.
Since then, he’s become something of a Twitter celebrity, with MLB handicappers providing daily updates and trying to guess when he’ll wear the gear next. Over the last 27 days, Emmel has only been a home-plate umpire three times.
But the momentum hasn’t stopped.
The ‘over’ has hit in each of Emmel’s last three appearances, bringing his ridiculous totals record to an astounding 22-1 on the season. No other umpire is even close and never has been. (Gary Cederstrom and C.B. Bucknor each posted 23-7 ‘over’ records in the early 2000s.)
Emmel is the home-plate umpire for tonight’s Rays-Royals game, and rest assured, the public has been briefed on the situation. Take a quick trip to any sports betting message board and you’re likely to stumble on threads similar to these:
David Price (Rays) and Luke Hochevar (Royals) are the listed pitchers, and the game’s total is currently set at 7. That should tell you everything you need to know. Oddsmakers clearly see this streak as ‘dumb luck’ rather than something meaningful and a sign of things to come.
Remember, Emmel’s first 13 MLB seasons yielded more unders (196) than overs (181), and he posted more unders than overs in each of the last four seasons entering 2012.
All that said, the over is a lock. #justkidding
