There a few umpires in MLB history who have a worse reputation than Angel Hernandez, and he once again reminded fans of why during Tuesday’s game between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Angels.
Hernandez was the home plate umpire for Houston’s 4-2 win. To say that he had a rather large strike zone throughout the game would be a massive understatement. Here’s a video that shows all the questionable ball-strike calls Hernandez made in the contest:
All of Angel Hernandez’s “questionable” calls from the Astros/Angels game, April 6, 2021.
Enough is enough.#ForTheH #WeBelieve pic.twitter.com/gqyLkxfLNS
— Apollo Media (@ApolloHOU) April 6, 2021
In Hernandez’s defense, some of those pitches were just barely outside the electronic strike zone, and plenty of umpires miss similar calls. He also seemed to be calling strikes for both teams on pitches that were well outside the zone, so at least he was consistent.
All that said, this is obviously a frustrating theme for Hernandez. The 59-year-old has been an MLB umpire since 1991 and has long faced criticism for his controversial calls. He was even ruthlessly mocked by TV announcers during a spring training this year because of his reputation. You can see that video here.
It’s no wonder why players and managers cringe when they learn that Hernandez will be working one of their games.
Photo: tunnelarmr/Flickr via CC-by-SA-2.0
