A much-derided umpire who has long been one of pro baseball fandom's least favorite officials is finally hanging up his mask and retiring.
According to reports, ump Angel Hernández, who has officiated at Major Leagues ball games for more than 30 years, announced on Monday that he is retiring, the BBC reported.
"I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family," Hernández said in a statement, according to CBS News. "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."
Sports media has repeatedly ranked Hernández as the "most hated," "least favorite," and "worst" umpire in professional baseball. And fans are thrilled to see him go.
While the BBC insisted that the MLB "data" showed he wasn't the worst of all time -- "just merely below average" -- it did note that when he was wrong, he was "egregiously wrong."
Hernández has been taking brick bats nearly since his first year behind the plate in 1991, and sports writer Roberta Newman insisted, "Whenever I watched or went to a game, no matter what team, when you saw that [Angel Hernández] was behind the plate, you knew it was going to be a disaster. This isn’t just a matter of opinion. He misses calls constantly and is wildly inaccurate."
Social media was flooded with video showing some of the umpire's "worst calls" behind the plate.
Some of Angel Hernandez’s worst calls of 2023 behind home plate.
(Video: Umpire Auditor/YT) pic.twitter.com/LT7kY1q0S4
— Baseball’s Greatest Moments (@BBGreatMoments) October 15, 2023
Some of the low-lights of his career were widely shared by the media on Tuesday.
In 1998, for instance, Hernández called the Braves’ Michael Tucker safe at home despite the fact that New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza clearly beat Tucker to the plate. The call ended up giving the Braves the win, much to the consternation of Mets fans everywhere.
https://youtu.be/mqh9xLb376c?si=aoB7SfgaIcKmPLSo
In 2013, Hernández was blasted for a double that wasn't when he ruled a fair ball when the Athletics’ Adam Rosales hit one to left-center that obviously hit above the yellow line and should have been ruled as the game-winning home run. Instead, Hernández called it a double, and Oakland ended up losing the game 4-3.
https://youtu.be/Ja1kLQTvwSs?si=8VM3G2-tZKdUOBJM
There was is record-setting fail during the 2018 American League Division Series matchup between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox where four of his calls were questioned and three overturned in one game, the worst record of any ump ever in a playoff series.
Then there was this:
** 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
His retirement was not lamented, for sure. Needless to say, fans were celebrating at the news.
Angel Hernández selfie. pic.twitter.com/gJTr6Dmq45
— Moke (@Moke453) May 28, 2024
The agony that is Angel Hernandez’s umpiring has finally come to a close, so what better time to remember his legacy than right now
Some of Angel Hernandez’s worst calls and most iconic moments, a thread🧵 pic.twitter.com/yRerPlyhUe
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) May 28, 2024
Angel Hernandez attending his retirement party pic.twitter.com/dq72l9zs8y
— Shooter McGavin (@ShooterMcGavin_) May 28, 2024
EXCLUSIVE: inside look at Angel Hernandez's signature on his retirement papers. pic.twitter.com/4tboAIUp1l
— Dayton from Nebraska (@BravesAmerica) May 28, 2024
Even the indispensable Babylon Bee took some time to make note of the ump's career.
Retired Angel Hernandez Gets New Job Inspecting Planes For Boeing https://t.co/lmWm21JlCp pic.twitter.com/X82rHLbzup
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 29, 2024
Hernández has been so bad that a study prepared by by Boston University found that he had 2.2 missed calls per inning over his career.
He seems to be leaving the job just a bit bitter. Despite his long time on the job, Hernández was never promoted to crew chief like others with his long tenure. Consequently, he filed a lawsuit against MLB in 2017 alleging racial discrimination, the BBC reported. A federal appeals court threw out the lawsuit last year.
