"There has to be a line where enough is enough" - MLB insider blasts Angel Hernandez as umpire's dismal performance comes under fire
Angel Hernandez has not done very well as an umpire this season. Numerous calls of his have been absolutely lambasted by fans, players and media members all year, and the season is not even one month old.
Hernandez has a history of controversial calls, and one MLB insider believes that history ought to have caught up with him by now.
MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal discussed the matter on the "Foul Territory" podcast:
"There has to be a line, right? There has to be a line where you tell umpires enough is enough, we cannot stand this anymore. ... They didn't like Angel Hernandez very much, they didn't think of him very highly as an umpire. Yet, nothing has happened."
Rosenthal added that he texted an umpire and asked why the rest of them weren't embarrassed by it. The umpire didn't go that route, though, saying that the scrutiny Hernandez receives is unfair but agreed that the at-bat with Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford was bad.
According to the umpire Rosenthal spoke with, the rest of the umps in MLB love Hernandez. The umpires generally have a very positive opinion, something players, managers and fans don't tend to share.
Angel Hernandez made history with Wyatt Langford at bat
Angel Hernandez has been controversial over the years, and with all the technology that's available now, fans and coaches can know just how off some of the umpire's calls have been.
Umpire auditor grades umps on their accuracy and their favor towards a team, as well as just whether or not they missed a call. For this new system, no one has done what Hernandez did to Wyatt Langford.
Facing the Houston Astros and with the bases loaded, Langford worked a 2-0 count before strikes one and two were pretty well off the plate. They were called strikes anyway.
The third straight pitch was even further out of the zone, but Hernandez rang up the rookie and ended the inning. Per the Auditor, it missed by nearly seven inches - the biggest miss on a strikeout in the system's history.