Call to the pen
Fansided

Angel Hernandez should not be anywhere near playoffs

By David Hill

Third base umpire Angel Hernandez (5) looks over the Pirates dugout in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. The Reds led 8-1 in the top of the sixth inning.Pittsburgh Pirates At Cincinnati Reds
Third base umpire Angel Hernandez (5) looks over the Pirates dugout in the first inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Monday, Sept. 27, 2021. The Reds led 8-1 in the top of the sixth inning.Pittsburgh Pirates At Cincinnati Reds /
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The postseason should be a time where the best and brightest umpires in the game are called upon. In these short series, or in the single elimination Wild Card Game, there is no room for error, including from the umpiring crew. As such, this is no place for the likes of Angel Hernandez, who may well be the worst umpire in the game.

Unfortunately, Major League Baseball does not understand this concept. Not only is the train wreck known as Joe West behind the plate for the National League Wild Card game, but Hernandez will be part of the umpiring crew for the NLDS.

Angel Hernandez should not be umpiring a playoff series

Hernandez has an over inflated sense of his actual usefulness on the diamond. He had sued MLB for discrimination, claiming that he was not given playoff assignments or made a crew chief because of his race and an ongoing feud with Joe Torre. That lawsuit was thrown out as the judge essentially said that Hernandez is so terrible at his job that there is no reason for him to be a part of the playoffs.

Related Story. West gets a chance to ruin another game. light

And yet, here we are. Maybe the league is afraid of another lawsuit where a judge who does not watch baseball may side with Hernandez. Even though anyone who watches him for five minutes would see that he is grotesquely incompetent, he is back for another playoff series.

Let us not forget what happened when Hernandez finally got his chance at the playoffs. He blew three calls at first in the span of four innings, with a fourth call being challenged but upheld. When one has to wonder what game the umpire is watching, that is not a good sign regarding the competence of the person calling the game.

While Joe West is finally retiring, the league is stuck with Hernandez for the foreseeable future. Maybe they can promote him to s supervisory role to get him off the diamond, keeping his incompetence in middle management. But that will be too late for the NLDS, which may be decided by a horrendous call from the worst umpire in the game.

Next. Five worst MLB umpires. dark

Angel Hernandez will be part of the umpiring crew for the NLDS. There is no reason for him to be anywhere near the diamond in a playoff game.

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