Butler graduate Bill Hohn needed the confidence to make important calls during his time as a Major League Baseball umpire.

The difference between right and wrong comes down to analyzing fractions of an inch, either with the strike zone or with players stepping on bases. Observers are typically blinded by their biases, perception of poor treatment, or the money they have riding on the game.

Audiences of millions can immediately see if the right or wrong call was made. Despite the difficulty of tracking a ball hurtling close to 100 miles an hour to the plate while dipping and spinning, there is little or no sympathy for mistakes.

Go on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, and you can find the account @UmpScorecards.

Following each game, fans worldwide can look at the accuracy of called balls/strikes and what they feel were the most pivotal missed calls.

While Hohn didn’t have to deal with social media for much of his MLB umpiring career, there is always pressure to perform. Modern broadcasts now include a strike zone projected on the screen so everyone can tell if a pitch is a ball or a strike.

Umpires are held more accountable than politicians. During Hohn’s tenure in baseball, the whole fabric of the sport shifted as MLB attempted to make major changes following a major labor dispute that wiped out the 1994 season.

Before Hohn started in baseball, he got his start in officiating basketball around Butler.

Hohn graduated from Butler Area High School in 1973.

He told the Norristown Times-Herald a veteran official encouraged him to pursue being a professional umpire and he went to Florida to attend a St. Petersburg-based umpiring school founded by Bill Kinnamon. After attending the school in 1977, he quickly hit the minor league circuit.

This required a lot of travel, which sent Hohn all over the country, including trips to places like Vancouver, Salt Lake City and Portland, Maine. He eventually earned a spot in the MLB in 1989. Hohn got his first taste of the big leagues in 1987 when he worked a few games to fill in for umpires who were off.

When he was inducted into the Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, he told the Butler Eagle he didn’t have much experience with professional baseball before starting as an umpire.

"I played baseball and I used to manage Little League in East Butler," Hohn said, "but I think I only went to one ma- jor-league game before I became a major-league umpire."

During Hohn’s career, he umpired 2,195 games across 21 seasons. Before MLB eliminated league-specific umpire crews in 2000, Hohn was a National League umpire from 1987 to 1999. Having umpires who worked solely for the National or American Leagues were made obsolete when the MLS instituted interleague play in 1997. Before that season, American and National league teams could only meet in the World Series.

Hohn worked as an MLB umpire from 2002-2010.

While Hohn never drew the assignment of working a World Series, he had three assignments for the National League Division Series in 1996, 1998 and 2005. In 1994, he worked as a left-field umpire in the All-Star game in Pittsburgh.

The most notable game that Hohn worked on came in 1996. He was behind the plate for Japanese star Hideo Nomo’s no-hitter in 1996. While Nomo issued four walks, the Japanese star was otherwise perfect during a 9-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

As many umpires do, Hohn fell into a few feuds. During Hohn’s career, he ejected 89 coaches and players. Hohn led the league in ejections in 2008 and 2009, throwing out eight and nine people, respectively, during those two seasons.

One of Hohn’s major antagonists was former Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox. During Cox’s tenure with Atlanta, he was shown the door six times against Hohn.

But Hohn feuding with Cox wasn’t strange.

Cox almost relished fighting with umpires. He still holds the MLB record for most ejections, having been thrown out of 162 games, the equivalent of one entire MLB regular season, during his career.

While Hohn’s feud with Cox didn’t seem personal, many of Hohn’s career controversies would happen against the Braves.

In 2009, Hohn drew the anger of Braves infielder Chipper Jones. At the end of the game, Hohn exchanged a fist bump with Florida catcher John Baker following a 6-3 Marlins win. This upset the Braves, who believed it was unprofessional and may show bias.

Atlanta was annoyed with how the balls and strikes were called. The Marlins drew six walks in the game, while the Braves only had two. Cox and Braves catcher Brian McCann would get thrown out.

Only a month earlier, Hohn had ejected three Braves during a 6-5 Boston win. Hohn drew Atlanta’s ire that day by not calling an apparent third strike on Red Sox outfielder J.D. Drew on an 0-2 count.

When Drew would single and put the Red Sox ahead 5-4, the Braves lost their minds. Atlanta pitcher Eric O’Flaherty was shown the door and he would be joined in the dugout by Jones and Cox when they also protested the call to Hohn.

Hohn had to wrap up his career following the 2010 season due to pain in his neck. During his career, Hohn told the Times-Herald he was an aggressive umpire who never got close to the players or coaches. He felt he needed to maintain the distance.

It served Hohn well to maintain his integrity. Even though he got stuck in a few disputes, Hohn was successful at carving out a long career for himself.