Angel Hernandez Season Of Disaster: A Recap Of MLB Umpire's Worst Calls
As we wind down the Major League Baseball regular season, what say we take a look back at some of the most memorable highlights from some of the sports biggest names, shall we?
No, I'm not talking about Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge. I'm talking about a person who can unite EVERY BASEBALL FAN. Someone who brought more collective reactions and emotions than anyone else in the sport.
I'm talking about the one, the only, umpire Aaron Hernandez.
ANGEL HERNANDEZ HAS BEEN AN UMPIRE FOR 32 YEARS
Angel Hernandez actually missed a good amount of the season after dealing with a medical issue during spring training. (In all seriousness, we wish him the best.)
However, once he overcame what he was dealing with, he began umpiring in Triple-A in June before they presumably couldn't stand him anymore and shipped him up to the big leagues on July 27th.
And in something straight out of a movie script, true to form, Angel Hernandez blew a call during his first game back.
Did you know Angel Hernandez has been umpiring MLB games for THIRTY-TWO YEARS? I would almost say that's deliberate negligence on the part of baseball and the umpire union.
I'm not saying I want the guy to lose his job. But I mean if he was driving a vehicle and had this many screwups, they would send him back to Drivers Ed. Can't we make MLB have the same checks and balances? Bryce Harper agrees.
MAYBE HE HAD AN OFF DAY?
Okay, maybe we'll give Angel a little leeway for being a bit rusty and just getting back into the swing of things for that first game.
Nope.
IT DOESN'T GET BETTER...
During a summer game when the Yankees were hosting the Orioles, Hernandez actually missed 23 calls in ONE SINGLE GAME. Ya know, because that's normal. Imagine screwing up 23 times in front of your boss and still showing up the next day as if everything's all good?
He also missed 18 calls in a Dodgers - Marlins game.
STATS BACK IT UP
Come the first week of September, Hernandez had missed 81 correct calls behind the plate in just SIX games according to the baseball analytic system Codify.
You know how doctors and lawyers have their certificates hanging up on their walls? I wonder if Angel has these game stats around his place.
IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR DECADES
The worst part is that nothing has changed. He hasn't gotten better, and even a judge agrees. Just last month Hernandez' lawsuit against MLB claiming they were racist by not allowing him to umpire the MLB playoffs and World Series in recent years was thrown out.
No Angel, as the court ruled it has nothing to do with race. It's just that you may not be good at what you do.
I don't know Angel personally but I like to assume everyone is a good person until they prove otherwise. But I can't really feel bad for him when he should have known decades ago that maybe umpiring wasn't for him.
Just watch this throwback clip from a Mets game that almost ended in a massive brawl.
Or how about NFL great Steve McMichael calling Hernandez out for his lousy calls before singing the iconic "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" at a Chicago Cubs game!? Look at Hernandez' facial reaction to it - dude is not pleased. And that is from over 20 years ago!
WILL ANYTHING CHANGE?
Unfortunately for anyone who is looking for a major change regarding Hernandez or any of the other sub-par umpires, it's not going to happen anytime soon. MLB and the MLBPA's CBA isn't up until 2026 before they can do anything about it.
Until then? Well, Hernandez can expect more of this: