An entire game, inning, and series swung when Home Plate Umpire Bill Miller failed to call a strike on a pitch clearly over the plate. Instead of Nathan Eovaldi getting out of the inning, Jason Castro was alive at the plate and would hit a go-ahead single.

Before the go-ahead base hit, this was the 1-2 pitch to Castro. pic.twitter.com/3PVLW8FFnt

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 20, 2021

That blown call had a profound impact on the game. Aside from the Houston Astros going up 3-2, the Boston Red Sox would then melt down. We’d see a seven run rally from that point.

Now, many will say the game didn’t hinge on that call, but they’re wrong. Eovaldi had Castro out and was out of the inning. Instead, he had to throw another pitch, and it led to the Red Sox losing. It was all due to a blown call.

This was far from the only blown call. In fact, this game was littered with them. Worse yet, Miller is one of the worst home plate umpires in the game.

Umpire: Bill Miller
Final: Red Sox 12, Astros 3#DirtyWater // #ForTheH#BOSvsHOU // #HOUvsBOS pic.twitter.com/U2VBFMAzRJ

— Umpire Scorecards (@UmpScorecards) October 19, 2021

This isn’t an isolated instance. Miller did this last postseason as well. All-in-all, he misses a lot of pitches. He seemingly just can’t handle breaking pitches around the corners.

World Series Game 3 Umpire Review

Name: Bill Miller
Bad calls: 10
Correct call percentage: 93.0%
Largest miss: 1.55 inches
Calls helping Dodgers: 7
Calls helping Rays: 3

This pitch to Mookie Betts should've ended the inning. Instead, the Dodgers went on to score another run. pic.twitter.com/GmrcP9tdCD

— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) October 24, 2020

Seeing him, you have to wonder how he keeps getting behind the plate in the postseasons. He has no business there, and he’s far from the only one. Laz Diaz and Angel Hernandez also come to mind.

Meanwhile, there are umpires who are terrific behind the plate. What’s astonishing is the five best did not receive a postseason assignment.

Are umps that had high Overall Accuracy per @UmpScorecards during the regular season getting postseason assignments? Based on games thru 10/10, of the 12 home plate umps, 3 were in the top third, 4 were in the middle third and 5 were in the bottom third. pic.twitter.com/rzIPoE5sZn

— Umpire Scorecards Analysis (@UmpAnalysis) October 11, 2021

Playing devil’s advocate, it’s possible these umpires are good behind the plate but poor elsewhere. That should beg the question why are we rotating umpires throughout a postseason series?

MLB should not have floating strike zones game to game in a postseason series. Moreover, it’s the postseason. We should see the best of the best. That should include umpires.

There really is no justifiable reason not to have the best home plate umpire behind the plate. The best first base umpire should be at first, and so on and so on.

In the postseason, there’s an increased need to get the calls correct. There is just too much on the line. Instead, we saw the NLDS end on a horrific call, and we saw the ALCS wildly swing on an inexcusably bad missed call.