Home plate umpire Carlos Torres missed the Yankees' first chance in Game 1 of the World Series

Umpiring your first World Series must be stressful, regardless of your ranking. If you're behind the opening salvo of the most-watched fall classic of modern times? Yes. Carlos Torres is feeling the butterflies right now. All Yankees fans can ask for is fairness for both sides, but… so far, after one inning, it looks like things are clearly tipping against New York.

Jack Flaherty's first pitch to Gleyber Torres touched the ground (despite his high velocity), but he was close to the plate for the rest of the at-bat…but Torres called it close. Torres' initial impressions suggested he had no intention of letting the moment overwhelm him and planned to keep his plate closed.

Unfortunately, uh… things went downhill quickly.

It didn't matter in the end, but Giancarlo Stanton hit a 1/3 hit on an eight-inch fastball but somehow saw it was strike two. After Tommy Edman botched Stanton's grounder, Jazz Chisholm came on with two on and two out. He then pulled his bat back, only for Torres to unleash a strike…on…an almost spiked curveball?

As John Smoltz said after an earlier ball call on a curveball on the toes of his shoes, “Those are the calls Flaherty needs.” Yes? No kidding? Any pitcher could use terrible calls in their favor. This isn't specific to Flaherty.

Who are the umpires in the Yankees vs. Dodgers 2024 World Series?

Torres is actually one of the umpires who are on the higher side of the ratings, which will surprise fans who only know him from the first inning. The first-time World Series guard will be followed by the league's 73rd umpire – Andy Fletcher, also making his first Fall Classic.

Can we just get the best of the best for the ultimate phase of the game? Where are the top 10 guys? Angel Hernández is nowhere to be found, but it seems like we could have done better than a team that looks like a Pro Bowl squad after injuries and Super Bowl vacations took their toll.

I'm looking forward to Torres improving as the game progresses.