Infamous umpire Angel Hernandez may have retired, but his legacy has kept his name alive in baseball discourse.
The Texas Rangers on Monday hosted the Detroit Tigers for the opener of a three-game series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
With the score tied 1-1, Rangers outfielder Leody Tavares led off the bottom of the 7th inning against Tigers reliever Beau Brieske. Tavares worked a full count and kept his at-bat alive by fouling off several close pitches.
Brieske’s 10th pitch of the at-bat, which appeared to be well below the zone, was called a strike by home plate umpire Tom Hanahan. Tavares, the home fans, and even Rangers broadcast announcer Dave Raymond couldn’t believe the call.
“Gotta be kidding me. We just can’t be serious. Wow,” said Raymond.
"Gotta be kidding me. We just can't be serious. Wow."
Pretty much pic.twitter.com/CSBUjSrRlt
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) June 4, 2024
All three outs in the half-inning were made via a called third strike. The Tigers scored a run in the 8th and shut out the Rangers the rest of the way for a 2-1 win.
The bad call had a few fans thinking Hernandez was still behind the plate calling balls and strikes.
I thought Angel Hernandez retired
— Todd Ferguson (@ToddFerguson01) June 4, 2024
Paying tribute to Angel Hernandez https://t.co/RBKuQzjZvT
— Woke Kyle (@WokeKyle) June 4, 2024
Somewhere angel Hernandez is smiling https://t.co/QTTK9Bd7Rq
— Naija Freak(Basketball) 🇳🇬 (@thatdudesk) June 4, 2024
Last month, Hernandez announced his retirement after 32 years of service as an MLB umpire.
Hernandez has built a reputation for making some egregious errors from behind home plate. Even in retirement, his memory seems to still live on.
