MLB Umpire Ángel Hernández Retires After Criticism

Ángel Hernández, the umpire who was the target of heavy criticism over blown calls and sued Major League Baseball in 2017, claiming racial discrimination, is retiring after over 30 years as a major league umpire.

MLB and Hernández, 62, reached a financial settlement over the weekend, USA Today reported.

“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,” Hernández said in a statement. “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.”

Hernández claimed in his lawsuit that he was denied a crew chief position and World Series assignments because of his race, but a U.S. District Court in 2021 dismissed the case, later upheld by the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

“Hernández has failed to establish a statistically significant disparity between the promotion rates of white and minority umpires,” the appeals court stated. “MLB has provided persuasive expert evidence demonstrating that, during the years at issue, the difference in crew chief promotion rates between white and minority umpires was not statistically significant. Hernández offers no explanation as to why MLB’s statistical evidence is unreliable.”

The Athletic reported that last week, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred discussed the grading system for umpires, saying, “There is, in fact, a really detailed evaluation system. They get evaluated twice a year, in mid-season, and at the end of the season. There are monetary ramifications to those evaluations in terms of what they get in terms of postseason assignments, which is a big part of — a big increment to what they earn. And there are, in fact, mandatory remedial activities that are more frequently than people realize imposed on umpires.”

“Having said that, I think that the management of umpires is … a physically demanding job,” he continued. “It goes beyond just the evaluation, training and discipline. It also goes to things like thinking about their career path, how long should they be out there? And that implicates things like your retirement program. I mean, there’s a lot to the management of it that I don’t think everybody fully appreciates.”

“There have been many positive changes in the game of baseball since I first entered the profession,” Hernández said in his statement Monday. “This includes the expansion and promotion of minorities. I am proud that I was able to be an active participant in that goal while being a major league umpire.”

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In Game 3 of the 2018 American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, Hernandez made three calls that were overturned. On April 12, 2018, he called three consecutive pitches outside the strike zone as strikes and miscalled seven other pitches.

“Ángel was horrible,” Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez chafed after the 2018 playoff game. “Don’t get me going on Ángel now. Major League Baseball needs to do something about Ángel. It doesn’t matter how many times he sues Major League Baseball, he’s as bad as there is.”

Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia echoed, “I don’t understand why he’s doing these games. He’s always bad. He’s a bad umpire.”

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