"He's absolutely terrible” – When former Yankees ace CC Sabathia ripped Angel Hernandez following 2018 ALDS loss to Red Sox
With the news of Angel Hernandez retiring from the game of baseball, former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia might be throwing a party. The legendary lefty largely criticized Hernandez during his career.
He was especially frustrated with the umpire for his performance during the 2018 ALDS where the Yanks lost to the Boston Red Sox. It was not just his performance behind the plate that Sabathia was upset about, it was all over the field.
Sabathia was on the mound during Game 4's loss, and flat-out told the media that Hernandez was "terrible." He was not sure how he was able to secure a position to umpire a postseason game.
"I don't think Angel Hernandez should be umping playoff games. He's absolutely terrible. He was terrible behind the plate today, he was terrible at first base. It's amazing how he's getting a job to umpire in these playoff games," Sabathia said.
Not many players will rip into an umpire publicly like Sabathia did, but he was fed up. This is a sentiment that he later told the media was shared by much of the league.
While CC Sabathia sent shots at Angel Hernandez, Rick Porcello came to his aid
Later, CC Sabathia was asked if the feelings toward Angel Hernandez were shared around the league. It did not take long for him to tell the media that he was not the only one upset with the umpire getting postseason games.
"Everybody, I think. I think if you go ask them on the other side, too," Sabathia said.
While you could likely find some Red Sox players who were frustrated with Hernandez, Boston starter Rick Porcello was not. He had little to no problems with the strike zone behind the plate for the 2018 ALDS matchup.
"I thought [he] called a good game. You gotta get the ball over the white part of the plate and then you get strikes called," Porcello said.
Porcello did not have much to complain about. He went five innings that night, giving up just one run on four hits while tossing a strikeout.
He was unhappy that Sabathia was making Herandez a scapegoat when he saw no issues with the zone. That comment certainly did not make Porcello any more liked in the Bronx, it further added to the two club's heated rivalry.