One of most notorious umpires is set to retire, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today reporting that Ángel Hernández will retire as a major league umpire after 30 years in service. According to Nightengale, Major League Baseball had been negotiating a settlement with the veteran umpire for the past two weeks before reaching a resolution.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Hernández, 62, made his major league debut in the 1991 season and became a full-time MLB umpire in 1993. He had grown notorious for his missed calls, further highlighted with instant replay challenges added a decade ago, and the amount of animosity he’s drawn from players, coaches, and fans alike, who all consider him the worst umpire in the game. He had not been assigned a World Series since the 2005 season or a League Championship Series since 2016. Hernández filed a lawsuit in 2017, accusing MLB of racial discrimination for their postseason and crew chief umpire assignments. The suit was thrown out in a U.S. District Court in 2021, a decision upheld by the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals.
Hernández has some pretty notorious misses in recent seasons. The most recent example came earlier this season, when he struck out Wyatt Langford on three called strikes well out of the strike zone. Strike 3 was especially terrible, missing the outer edge of the rulebook strike zone by 6.78 inches according to Umpire Auditor.
** NEW UMPIRE AUDITOR RECORD **
Umpire Angel Hernandez rang up Wyatt Langford on three consecutive pitches out of the zone.
The strikeout pitch missed outside by 6.78 inches.
This was the largest miss on a called strikeout in Umpire Auditor history. pic.twitter.com/BWmizkDsmD
— Umpire Auditor (@UmpireAuditor) April 13, 2024
The game that drew the most attention came in the 2018 NLDS between the Yankees and Red Sox. In Game 3, Hernández was assigned to first base and made three calls that were overturned by a replay challenge. Former Red Sox pitcher and TBS analyst Pedro Martinez and Yankees starting pitcher C.C. Sabathia both delivered harsh criticism, calling on MLB to deal with Hernández.
Another game that drew headlines was a Sunday Night Baseball matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers. After ringing up Kyle Schwarber on a pitch outside the strike zone, the Phillies left fielder had enough and confronted Hernández. What happened next was an all-time ejection rant in which Schwarber stuck up for both teams.
Ángel Hernández released a statement on his retirement:
“Starting with my first Major League game in 1991, I have had the very good experience of living out my childhood dream of umpiring in the major leagues. There is nothing better than working at a profession that you enjoy. I treasured the camaraderie of my colleagues and the friendships I have made along the way, including our locker room attendants in all the various cities. I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family. Needless to say, there have been many positive changes in the game of baseball since I first entered the profession. This includes the expansion and promotion of minorities. I am proud that I was able to be an active participant in that goal while being a Major League umpire.”
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Cardinals for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
