Angel Hernández, the controversial umpire who has become a punchline throughout his Major League Baseball career, has retired from the game.
He called his last game on May 9th, according to reports.
In a statement, Hernández indicates he is stepping away from the game to spend more time with his family.
“Starting with my first major league game in 1991, I have had the very good experience of living out my childhood dream of umpiring in the major leagues,” he states. “I treasured the camaraderie of my colleagues and the friendships I have made along the way.”
“I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family.”
MLB and Hernández had spent the past two weeks negotiating the terms of his retirement.
RELATED: The Most Controversial Calls Ever Made By MLB Umpire Angel Hernandez
Angel Hernández Out Of MLB
Angel Hernández is known for an extensive umpiring career beginning in 1991. He began his stint in the National League in 1999 and has worked throughout both leagues since 2000.
But he is equally known for many controversies involving calls on the field.
Earlier this season, baseball insider Ken Rosenthal indicated that the league simply had to do something about Hernández, who was becoming the focus of numerous baseball games when umpires should be in the background.
He made his usual mark early on in the 2024 season. During the Texas Rangers’ series opener against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park, Angel left Rangers play-by-play announcer Dave Raymond absolutely beside himself by butchering three straight calls well outside of the strike zone.
Raymond’s call of, “You have got to be kidding me! What in the world?”, was an all too frequent reaction to some of Hernández’s work throughout his career.
THREE IN A ROW ANGEL??? pic.twitter.com/B2ZVhellGR
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) April 13, 2024
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Fans React To The Announcement
Skimming through social media doesn’t reveal a whole lot of fond memories of Angel Hernández’s career. A vast majority of the posts relive some of his worst calls, something Bounding Into Sports ran down earlier this season.
When fans weren’t reliving the debacle that was his career, they were posting celebratory memes.
Hernández sued the league in 2017 for racial discrimination, claiming he was passed over for World Series jobs and promotions due to his race and national origin.
The case was unsuccessful, much like many of Hernández’s judgment calls during his career.
Fans were left bewildered by the fact that the oft-maligned umpire was allowed to continue his career despite being very, very bad at his job. The MLB evaluation system may have been to blame.
For The Win reported that a game in 2022, in which Hernández had a bad day even by his standards – missing 19 calls at a rate of 85.3% correct – MLB’s own umpire ranking showed he scored 96.12% on the night.
Last season, he only called 10 games. According to an outfit that tracks such things, he managed to miss 161 calls.
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