Yesterday Angel Hernandez Reminded Us That He's a Genuine Marvel To Witness While Umpiring a Baseball Game

Mary DeCicco. Getty Images.

No one puts on an ump show quite like Angel Hernandez. His brain is wired in a way that no one can come close to understanding. From the moment I realized he'd be behind the plate for Sunday's Yankee game I got nervous. You knew going into that game that quite literally everything was on the table, your only hope is to avoid the full blown disaster call that swings the game in the other team's favor. He's a genuine marvel to witness attempt to do his job. 

And like clockwork, the game began completely off the rails. Something I don't think I've ever seen before if I'm being honest. Jays pitcher Bowden Francis clearly stepped off the rubber with a full count on Gleyber Torres in the bottom of the first inning. An obvious disengagement that should have restarted the pitch clock and allowed Gleyber time to reset in the box. That or a balk should have been called. There's no other way to see it, that is unless you're in the mind of Angel.  

Advertisement

The best part of all this is the pitch wasn't remotely close to a strike. At minimum several inches above the top of the zone. Again, not on Angel's watch. Strike three, go sit down. All four umpires huddled up after the mass confusion, but Angel would not be denied. Gleyber was out, for what would be the first of two terrible caught looking strikeouts of his afternoon. 

To show you I'm not writing this blog under a cloud of angry bias, I'll add another Angel moment later in the game where a Blue Jays pitcher threw the ball right down the middle, promptly called a ball. 

Nearly impossible to see this pitch and call it a ball. 

Angel Hernandez is one of a kind. In a crazy fucked up way, I think he's great for baseball. It's easy to say that after my team won the game, but when there's an Angel game going on it's must watch. He is the embodiment of an ump show. You're not playing baseball when he's behind the dish, you're playing Angel ball. What you think is up, is in fact down. A no brainer strike, completely up in the air. Rules? It's just whatever pops into his brain. He's like a delusional 70 year old teacher with an impenetrable shield of tenure protecting him from any punishment. The umpire's union may be the strongest group of people in the world because they render Angel untouchable. I don't even think he enjoys umping anymore, he simply has a passion for pissing everyone else off and getting away with it. Even the way he calls a strike with the raising of his hand into a closed fist is infuriating. Looks like a little umpire doing that. The raise of his hand on a called strike three makes you wanna put your head through a glass window. That's the Angel experience. 

Advertisement

Angel is arguably the worst anyone has ever been at a specific job, but if you just take a step back and picture it's Detective Frank Drebin behind the plate then you don't get as upset. 

The Yankees winning 8-3 yesterday certainly impacted the tune of this blog. At the moment I welcome Angel and the wild events that almost always take place during his games. My opinion is subject to change if his next debacle loses my team a game. 

P.S. Angel suing Major League Baseball for discrimination after not getting to work World Series games is one of the funnier bits going around.