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MLB: Angel Hernandez - Umpire

ISUCubswin

ISUCubswin

Well-Known Member
Mar 3, 2011
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Interested in hearing what people have to say about this guy.

Hernandez has been an MLB umpire since 1993. In 1999, there were 36 umpires in the NL. He was ranked 31st, yet when 13 umpires were fired from their job, he managed to remain. Prior to 2010, he had worked in two World Series and 6 League Championship games. Obviously the higher ups in the MLB thought highly of him. In 2010, ESPN surveyed and found out that 22%(!!!) of MLB players thought he was the WORST umpire in the MLB. Since then, he has worked 0 World Series, 1 League Championship, and 3 Division Championships, so clearly he's seeing a little bit of a drop in important games.

A little over a month ago, Hernandez, who is Hispanic, filed a lawsuit against the MLB because he felt he was being discriminated against (His two World Series were BEFORE 22% of players named him the worst umpire in the majors) and just a few days later, was named an umpire for the All-Star Game (For the first time since 2009) His attack is more towards Joe Torre, who has been the Chief Baseball Officer since 2011, and likely knows players feelings towards Hernandez since he was a former manager.

Only reason I bring all of this up - he and Ian Kinsler have a pretty interesting feud going on. Kinsler had a strike called that he disagreed with and they exchanged a few words. Next pitch was way outside and called a ball. Kinsler just stared at Hernandez, but did not say anything, and was ejected from the game. It appeared pretty messed up.
 
I still remember when Steve McMichael called out Hernandez during the 7th inning stretch after a questionable call he made. It just seems like the guy has too often been in the middle of controversy/bad calls.
 
flynnhicks03 said:
I still remember when Steve McMichael called out Hernandez during the 7th inning stretch after a questionable call he made. It just seems like the guy has too often been in the middle of controversy/bad calls.
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Sort of off topic, but it's weird how some refs in pro sports can hang around for such a long time even when they repeatedly demonstrate their incompetence. Like it's beyond me how Jeff Triplette still has a job in the NFL.
 
JP4CY said:
Angel is bad but not as bad as Cowboy Joe West.
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If you know their names it means they suck. With a MLB subscription to the Yanks this year I've gone from watching maybe 20 games a year to pushing at least parts of over a hundred this summer. I am a little shocked at how bad the balls/strikes calling can be at times. Woof! And it's just not homer color announcers pointing it out. Some guys call a great consistent game and there are some other dudes that you have no idea what they they might call a pitch. A lot off outside or outside and low seem to rack up called strikes, maybe because some of these nasty sliders get out there get so many swings and misses some umps think a ball out there is actually a strike if the batter does not swing?

And some other inexplicable stuff like calling the infield fly rule on a ball caught by a second baseman basket style while running full speed into shallow right near the foul line. I thought it was going to drop for a hit and they call infield fly. Mets manager's head would have exploded if the ball hadn't actually been caught.
 
I personally feel like strike and ball calls the last year or two have been worse than I can remember.

This is more than likely due to new technology showing balls and strikes, but in a time in which umpires need to be better than ever to keep those robots from taking their jobs, they sure aren't coming through in the clutch.
 
BoxsterCy said:
If you know their names it means they suck.
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I was just thinking this. You rarely ever hear the name of any of the umps mentioned beyond the bit at the start of a broadcast when they're introduced to the tv audience. And I don't know that every broadcast team does this or not (they do for the Giants). But the names don't tend to stick with you unless they're consistently doing something poorly enough for the commentators to discuss them for an extended period of time. Angel Hernandez is probably the ONLY (current) major league ump's name I know off the top of my head. And true to form, it's not because he's great at doing his job.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: coolerifyoudid
Angel Hernandez is a prima donna and a crappy umpire to boot. Joe West is an ass but at least his calls are generally correct although if you listen to John Smoltz talk about him, he squeezes pitchers just to see how they react which is BS. I've always considered Kinsler to be a class act so for him to be in this kind of feud with Hernandez is pretty telling. I see they made up last night, which is all well and good but I'm guessing that a lot of players and managers would like to shake Kinsler's hand for calling a spade a spade.

Umps can have bad days just like players and everybody else so I'm generally willing to give the benefit of the doubt, especially with some of the egos they deal with day in and day out. That said, when you have guys like West, Hernandez, "Balkin'" Bob Davidson etc that are always in the middle of this stuff you know they're the problem. .
 
jay moe said:
It hasn't helped the MLB keeps redefining what is and isn't in the strike zone.
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Raising the strike zone to "above the knee" was partly in response to umps constantly calling pitches below the knee as strikes. I think the idea is that umps will stop calling low balls as strikes and actually call pitches strikes that are at the knee even though new rules is "above".
 
BoxsterCy said:
Raising the strike zone to "above the knee" was partly in response to umps constantly calling pitches below the knee as strikes. I think the idea is that umps will stop calling low balls as strikes and actually call pitches strikes that are at the knee even though new rules is "above".
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Raising the strike zone was done in response to declining offensive production. They are considering lowering the mound also.

Offense brings eyes to sets and makes money.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: theantiAIRBHG
Angel Hernandez does seem to be one of the professional sports officials/umpires/refs that has forgotten people spend money to watch the players, not them. With that said, Ian Kinsler is a crybaby ***** and anything he says has at least some level of discredit to it.
 
BoxsterCy said:
If you know their names it means they suck. With a MLB subscription to the Yanks this year I've gone from watching maybe 20 games a year to pushing at least parts of over a hundred this summer. I am a little shocked at how bad the balls/strikes calling can be at times. Woof! And it's just not homer color announcers pointing it out. Some guys call a great consistent game and there are some other dudes that you have no idea what they they might call a pitch. A lot off outside or outside and low seem to rack up called strikes, maybe because some of these nasty sliders get out there get so many swings and misses some umps think a ball out there is actually a strike if the batter does not swing?

And some other inexplicable stuff like calling the infield fly rule on a ball caught by a second baseman basket style while running full speed into shallow right near the foul line. I thought it was going to drop for a hit and they call infield fly. Mets manager's head would have exploded if the ball hadn't actually been caught.
Click to expand...

Yes and no. I've been watching baseball going on 11 years now and I can tell who the umpires are (the ones that have been around at least that long) just by seeing them, and it doesn't have to be up close. Even if they have the mask on.
 
MLB should use K-Zone not to call the balls/strikes, but as an evaluation of how good the individual umps calls were for the year. Only the most accurate should be allowed for post season work.

The latest action by the umps to wear white arm bands in protest of what they view as a weak fine for Kinsler is one of the most ridiculous things I've seen on the diamond.
 
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CTTB78 said:
MLB should use K-Zone not to call the balls/strikes, but as an evaluation of how good the individual umps calls were for the year. Only the most accurate should be allowed for post season work.
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I'm a little fuzzy on it, but I think an old system called QuesTec was used to evaluate umpires. There was quite a bit of backlash. One of the issues was the accuracy between parks. The other is umpires historically didn't have the same strike zone for fast balls and curveballs. Those that adjusted to match QuesTec were unpopular with players and managers because a uniform strike zone was a departure from what they were used to. Things are a lot different now with how much of this information is available to players and fans.
 
No personal opinion on Hernandez but Chipper Jones is pretty open about his opinion of him being by far the worst ump in baseball.
 
I can't stand most umpires. Seems to me, half of them try and make sure they get to be the center of attention at least once or twice in a game. I've never understood how the rules can be so specific of what a strike is, yet every umpire has, "Their own strike zone" I feel this is another one of those idiotic nostalgia things that baseball holds on to. The technology is there, no reason a human, especially one who's bad at it, should be calling balls and strikes behind the plate.

I still blame a lot of umpiring today and the "Naked Gun" and Enrico Palazzo. It kind of opened the door to, "Hey, I can be a star too!"
 
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