MLB NHL NFL NBA...which is the least influenced by officiating?

Coinstartled

I'll stick my neck out and say baseball. Obviously the home plate umpire is making a couple of hundred decisions per game, but if he is way off, it is easily verified.

With the exception of the very rare ejection, umps are not penalizing players as is done in the other 3 team sports.

Justacommeman

Hockey. Their new replay rules allows to get almost all the calls right.

m

Coinstartled

@Justacommeman said:
Hockey. Their new replay rules allows to get almost all the calls right.

m

Does that apply to penalties?

perkdog

Officiating can influence any game any sport any time. Overall I don’t watch enough NBA or NHL enough to give any valid input but I would bet the NFL gets influenced the MOST

Coinstartled

NFL and NBA, where a foul can be called on every play.

Justacommeman

@Coinstartled said:

@Justacommeman said:
Hockey. Their new replay rules allows to get almost all the calls right.

m

Does that apply to penalties?

Goal tending interference.

There are usually less them 10 penalties in a game and less in the post season. They get most of them right. Not perfect but still pretty good.

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Tabe

Baseball without a doubt. The umpires influence balls and strike, sure. But in the other three sports, they can look the other way when guys are getting grabbed as they shoot / run / whatever and also actually penalize people. Nothing similar in baseball.

Justacommeman

That’s exactly why I don’t think it’s baseball. The balls and strikes

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lanemyer85

definitely not hockey. It's like football where you can pretty much find a penalty on any given play...a slash, hold, interference, illegal picks etc. Watch any game coached by Mumbles Babcock and you'll find these infractions on pretty much every set play or off of a cycle. He learned it from Bowman and they both made a career out of forcing the refs to make the call, and because the NHL wants 2.5 hour games, they only call the most obvious penalties. Thus I'd say the NBA if for no other reason than it's only 5 a side on the floor at all times, smaller playing surface, no equipment getting in the way etc.

Brick

We know it's not the NFL. The officials don't have any idea if a receiver caught the ball or not. It's also not the NBA. They have an official who did prison time for influencing outcomes. So it is between baseball or hockey. I will go with baseball due to all the replays and computerized strike zones showing where each pitch was. Close call though.