Infamous MLB umpire Angel Hernandez is retiring from baseball.
The baseball world is happy that one of the sport’s greatest villains is leaving the game for good.
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Hernandez was known for making some terribly egregious calls during his tenure as an MLB umpire.
New York Mets announcer Ron Darling once said, “It’s not an official game until Angel plays a major role in it.”
Fellow broadcaster Gary Cohen followed with “Angel, devil, it’s hard to care.”
MLB fans enjoyed having a common enemy during games, with many fans labeling Hernandez as “the worst umpire ever.”
As he retires, let’s look back at some of the worst decisions of his refereeing career.
KYLE SCHWARBER EXPLODES IN HERNANDEZ
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Kyle Schwarber tends to be a cool and collected player, but with Angel Hernandez behind the plate he has transformed into a totally different man.
Schwarber had a 3-2 count in a 2022 Sunday Night Baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers when he caught a ground ball.
However, Hernandez called it a strike and called him out.
Schwarber exploded at Hernandez and the Philadelphia Phillies announcer couldn’t help but agree with the temper tantrum.
“Schwarber is speaking for both sides tonight,” said Karl Ravech.
“We saw many of these demonstrations, none of them. We saw them when the players returned to the bench.”
CALLS IN THE 90s
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Die-hard New York Mets fans will likely remember this glaring missed call from 1998.
The Mets were deadlocked 2-2 with the Atlanta Braves in the 11th inning, and the Braves had the bases loaded with one out.
A flyout brought two outs and Atlanta’s Michael Tucker raced to home plate to try and score and win the game.
Mets left fielder Bernard Gilkey fired a cannonball to home plate, easily beating Tucker, but Hernandez deemed it safe even though catcher Mike Piazza held onto the ball.
The Braves won the game 3-2 because of the call-up and the entire Mets team seemed to attack Hernandez to give him peace of mind.
HERNANDEZ STEALS A HOME RUN
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Normally you only see outfielders stealing home runs, but in 2013 Hernandez himself tried it.
In a 2013 battle between the Oakland Athletics and Cleveland, it appeared that Oakland infielder Adam Rosales hit a home run.
Replay showed that the ball clearly hit above the wall before coming back into play, but Hernandez still wouldn’t say it was a home run after seeing the replay.
A’s manager Bob Melvin didn’t believe the call and got in Hernandez’s face, resulting in his ejection.
MLB Network analysts said “there has to be accountability for this,” following the call.
THREE-BALL STRIKEOUT
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Hernandez made sure to remind MLB viewers that he was still in this season with perhaps his worst streak of the year.
In April, Hernandez struck out Texas Rangers slugger Wyatt Langford in an at-bat where he saw seven balls.
Langford didn’t take his bat off his shoulder once during the at-bat and no pitch was in the strike zone, but he still struck out.
The Rangers announcers were furious with Hernandez’s officiating and criticized him on live TV.
“You have got to be kidding me!” they shouted.
“What in the world?”
FAIR BALLS ARE FOUL BALLS
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In 2022, Hernandez was working as a third base umpire and seemed to forget what a fair and foul ball is.
Minnesota Twins slugger Byron Buxton hit a fly ball down the third base line that clearly hit the chalk on the line.
If a ball hits the chalk, it is considered a fair ball, but even though he was right in front of her, Hernandez considered the ball a foul.
This play also cannot be reviewed, so although it was a clear and fair ball, the Twins could not contest the call.
DOUBLE SPOKEN GAME
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This double play is one of Hernandez’s most famous missed plays in his officiating career.
In an overtime game between the Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox, the Sox had bases loaded and one out in the 10th inning.
A ball was put into play by the White Sox with a chance for a double play.
The Marlins came out first and then punted first, which Hernandez announced.
The replay clearly showed that Alex Rios hit the ball to first base but was tagged out.
“No no no!” Hawk Harrelson, the White Sox announcer, shouted.
“And another missed call from Hernández.”
THREE CALLS EXPLODED IN FOUR ININGS
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Hernandez’s poor officiating extends to the playoffs as well.
In the 2018 American League Divisional Series, Hernandez had three calls overturned in the first four innings of the game.
Hernandez was umpiring first base and made mistakes and made safe calls three times.
Each time the decision was reversed to the correct decision, but it was a terrible display in some of the most important games of the season.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
