For all the criticism umpires deservedly receive when they put forth a poor performance behind the plate, they absolutely deserve praise when they have an exceptional night at the ballpark.

After all, it's extremely difficult to call balls and strikes accurately when you're dealing with triple-digit velocity and two feet of horizontal break. That's why MLB would benefit so much by having an automated strike zone -- the technology is there.

Well, on Tuesday, we just about got a glimpse of what a robot ump would look like during the game between the Yankees and White Sox. And let me tell ya -- it was a special performance.

According to Ump Scorecards, Gabe Morales called 99.4 percent of taken pitches accurately in the game. It was the best-called game this season across MLB, and Morales did so with a high volume of taken pitches. Out of the 174 pitches taken in the ballgame, his lone missed call came in the fifth inning on the most borderline of would-be strikes to Giancarlo Stanton. This was how close Morales came to a perfectly called game:

It really doesn't get any closer than that.

Since Ump Scorecards started tracking performance, only Pat Hoberg -- who is suspended this season amid alleged gambling activity -- has called a perfect game (in the World Series!). Morales' performance on Tuesday was right up there with that.

Fans were understandably impressed with the effort from Morales. For one night, he was a robot.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

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This article originally appeared on For The Win: MLB fans were so impressed after umpire Gabe Morales came breathtakingly close to calling a perfect game