Where does Phil Cuzzi rank among MLB umpires? Here’s what the numbers say

Umpire Phil Cuzzi drew attention on Monday night for his performance behind the plate during the opener of a three-game series between the Phillies and Giants. He missed a handful of key calls in Philadelphia’s 3-1 loss at Oracle Park while correctly calling 90.63% of pitches and favoring San Francisco by 1.42 runs, according to Umpire Scorecards.

Umpire Scorecards is a website and database founded by Ethan Singer that’s “dedicated to measuring the accuracy, consistency, and favor of MLB umpires.” The site tracks the performances from the home-plate umpire from each Major League Baseball game.

After Monday’s controversial showing, Cuzzi has now correctly called 93.83% of the 2,641 pitches he’s judged in 18 games as the plate umpire this season. He’s been 0.59% more accurate than expected in 2025. Cuzzi ranks 63rd in accuracy among the 90 umpires who have called balls and strikes in at least one game.

While the numbers show that Cuzzi may not have been egregiously inaccurate on Monday, his misses seemed to come at notable times. His two most impactful calls, per Umpire Scorecards, happened in the eighth inning during a particularly damaging sequence from the umpire. After getting Matt Chapman in an 0-2 count, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering threw three pitches in a row that appeared to be strikes; Cuzzi called all three balls. Chapman then singled, and the Giants scored two runs in the inning.

Officiating aside, the Phillies only scored one run on a wild pitch, leaving seven runners on base and going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Cuzzi, 69, is a veteran umpire who first made his major-league debut in 1991 and permanently joined the staff in 1999. He’s called numerous postseason games during his career, working the American League Wild Card Game in 2013, the Wild Card Series in 2024, the Division Series seven times, the National League Championship Series three times and the 2017 World Series. Cuzzi was in right field for the 2008 All-Star Game at the old Yankee Stadium and at second base for the 2019 All-Star Game at Progressive Field.