In all facets of sports whenever an umpire, referee, or officiator has their name known it could be for two reasons. The first could be because they blew a call that’s stuck with them for the rest of their life like when Jim Joyce ruined Armando Galarraga’s perfect game. The second could be because they’re known for consistently getting calls wrong.
Angel Hernandez was solidly in the second camp of umpires before retiring after 30 years of work. Did he retire of his own volition or did social media play a part in his retirement?
Over 30 Years As An MLB Umpire
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Angel Hernandez’s career in Major League Baseball first started over thirty years ago in 1991 after he spent ten years umpiring in the minor leagues. While I’d like to say he was a decent umpire for a majority of his time in MLB, the truth is he wasn’t.
In 1998, Hernandez was behind the plate for a Mets-Braves game where he blew a game-ending call that would see the Braves win 3-2 over the Mets. Michael Tucker tagged up on a fly ball to left field and even though the ball clearly beat Tucker to home plate, Hernandez still got the call wrong and gifted the Brave the winning run. Replay would go on to show that Angel completely botched the call.
In 2013, Hernandez also got another call wrong in an Athletics-Indians game. Adam Rosales clearly hits a homerun and even after using replay review, Hernandez still got the call wrong. As a result, Rosales’s hit was ruled a double instead of a Home Run.
Angel Hernandez Retires
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On May 27th, 2024 Angel Hernandez announced his retirement from umpiring MLB with his last game having been on May 9th which saw him behind the plate in a Guardians–White Sox game. In a statement issued by MLB, Hernandez said the main reason he retired from being an umpire is because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
His family may have only been one reason for his retirement as Jeff Passan, a noted and respected ESPN columnist and MLB insider theorizes that social media may have also played a part. In a clip from the Rich Eisen Show on YouTube, Jeff Passan gave out the idea that social media helped oust Angel Hernandez from his job an MLB umpire.
Personally, I agree with Passan because it does seem odd that an umpire with over 30+ years under his belt wouldn’t just go one more season and then retire. While Angel’s back injury last year may have also played a part, the fact he came back this season only to retire about two months in I believe lends credence to Passan’s idea.
Angel’s Lawsuit Against MLB
Angel Hernandez didn’t just make waves with MLB fans, he also made waves with Major League Baseball itself when he filed a racial discriminations lawsuit against them. Hernandez felt that MLB was racially discriminating against him and was the reason for him not umping in the World Series since 2005 and being passed over for crew chief promotions.
In March of 2021, Hernandez lost his lawsuit and that it wasn’t his race but his god awful umpiring which kept him from umping in more World Series games and crew chief promotions.
Like him or dislike him, Angel Hernandez left a legacy in his 30 years as an MLB Umpire and while I’m personally happy he’s out of the league I wish him the best in retirement.
About the Author
Shawn Simpson is a writer who loves TTRPGs like D&D and Pathfinder, Wargames such as MESBG and Bolt Action, Video Games, Star Wars, Cats, Fantasy, Reading, and many more geeky/nerdy things. He is also a huge fan of the Detroit Tigers with baseball being his favorite sport. When Shawn isn’t playing games he can be either be found curled up with a cozy fantasy or a Star Wars book, or doing some writing. Shawn’s other work can be found here, here, and here.
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