Cincinnati Reds Joey Votto victimized by Angel Hernandez

Angel Hernandez has struck again, this time victimizing Cincinnati Reds star Joey Votto on three terrible strike three calls.

It was a meeting of the immovable object and the unstoppable force. In one corner, we had Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, a player renowned for his batting eye and patience at the plate. In the other, we had Angel Hernandez, an umpire so awful that he would probably call a better game if he was blindfolded. They two would face off on Sunday, a battle for the ages.

In the end, Hernandez was far too much for Votto’s discerning eye at the plate. He took a called third strike three times, rung up on pitches outside the strike zone.

Three two strike pitches, and three pitches outside of the zone. One can commiserate with Votto for being upset, especially on those final two calls. To be fair to Hernandez, the first strikeout, coming on a 92 MPH fastball just off the lower outside corner, was a pitch that could have gone either way.

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In the bottom of the fifth, Votto once again faced a 2-2 count. This time, Jon Lester threw an 87 MPH cutter that was several inches off the plate inside. Apparently, Victor Caratini managed to fool Hernandez into thinking it was a strike, because Votto was once again set down looking.

Then we came to the bottom of the seventh. This time, Votto was facing reliever Rowan Wick, quickly falling behind 0-2. After fouling off several pitches, Votto again had a 2-2 count against him. And again, Hernandez called a pitch out of the zone for strike three, this time sending Votto down on an 85 MPH cutter that missed the top of the strike zone.

Normally, this would not be news. Umpires will sometimes miss a call, or have a bad day behind the plate. But this is Angel Hernandez – an umpire that has proven his incompetence in the past, but has the audacity to sue Major League Baseball claiming that he is being discriminated against because he had not been allowed to work in the postseason.

Calls like this are why. Each umpire has a slightly different strike zone, and it is something that the players understand. However, they expect consistency from those behind the plate. That is where Hernandez is particularly lacking, unless one considers his consistent incompetence.

On Sunday, Hernandez’ amorphous strike zone claimed another victim, with Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto facing the wrath of his incompetence.