MLB umpire Angel Hernandez has a reputation for his oftentimes mind-boggling strike zone, and it does not appear that is an issue he worked on during the offseason.
Hernandez was behind the plate for Sunday’s exhibition game between the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals, and he appeared to blow a strike call in the first inning. A 1-1 pitch from Cards right-hander Jack Flaherty looked like it was right down the middle, but Hernandez felt it was a bit low. The announcers strongly disagreed and joked that Hernandez “is in midseason form.”
That was pretty ruthless, but you can understand why.
Hernandez has blown more ball-strike calls than seemingly any umpire in recent history. He kicked off the shortened season last year by ringing up Howie Kendrick on this awful call, and spring training began the same way for the veteran ump on Sunday.
Hernandez, 59, has been an MLB umpire since 1991 and has long faced criticism for some of his awful calls. He is suing MLB for discrimination, and it was alleged that he eavesdropped on an investigative call in 2019.
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