Umpire Angel Hernandez admits he got call wrong
Angel Hernandez admitted on Monday that he got a strike call wrong to end Sunday’s Chicago Cubs-San Diego Padres game.
Hernandez was the homeplate umpire during the Cubs’ 10-6 defeat and called Anthony Rizzo out on strikes on a 3-2 pitch with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to end the game. Replays showed the pitch was on the chalk, several inches off the plate. It should have been called a ball, which would have put Rizzo on first with a walk
The Cubs were steamed about the call, with Rizzo calling it “unacceptable.” Cubs manager Joe Maddon termed it “egregiously” bad.
A day after the criticism, Hernandez told the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan that he reviewed the pitch and realized he made a wrong call.
Just spoke with umpire Angel Hernandez at Sox Park. Angel said he looked at video of last pitch to Rizzo and that it was off plate by three inches, should've been ball four. "Rizzo was right… I'm not perfect."
— Paul Sullivan (@PWSullivan) August 6, 2018
Hernandez admitting he was wrong is at least a positive step. Next it would be great if someone took a serious look at Hernandez’s job status based on his history of egregious calls.
