While the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins were facing off with majors playoff implications on the line Saturday, it was umpire Ángel Hernández who became one of the game's biggest standouts.
Hernández missed 15 calls in the game from behind the plate, according to Umpire Scorecards. The mistakes Hernández made worked out to give the Yankees an additional 0.68 runs, although New York still lost 3-1.
In addition to being the lowest rated umpire across the league on Saturday, Hernández ranks last in correct call rate on the season.
Hernández correctly called 89% of balls and strikes on Saturday – 4% below expected – while his consistency came in at 89% as well.
The seventh inning was Hernández's worst of the day, with all three of his most influential calls in terms of changes in run expectancy coming in that frame. His first and third biggest missed calls came in the same at-bat, when Yankees left fielder Billy McKinney was facing Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara.
Despite Hernández's inconsistency, Alcantara stuck it out and tossed a complete game. Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, is leading MLB in complete games for the third time in five years.
The 61-year-old Hernández had missed most of the 2023 season due to back surgery, eventually going on a minor league rehab assignment in July to get readjusted to the game following his extended absence. Ironically, he made headlines for his inconsistent and poor calls in Triple-A as well.
In his first game back in the majors on July 31, Hernández was the second base umpire for the series opener between the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers. Hernández called Nationals outfielder Alex Call safe on a stolen base attempt, but a replay review quickly overturned what should have been an easy call in the Brewers' favor.
In game three of that same series, Hernández was calling his first game from behind the plate all season. A key missed strike call in the second inning led to a home run for the Brewers.
None of this is new for Hernández, who has long been criticized by fans, pundits, players and managers. Looking at both accuracy and consistency, Hernández is right up there with Laz Diaz, Doug Eddings and CB Bucknor as the least effective MLB umpires out there.
The Yankees and Marlins will face off in a rubber match on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 1:40 p.m. ET. James Hoye is the crew chief for the series finale, and it remains to be seen if or where Hernández will be on the field.
Miami is 0.5 games out of an NL Wild Card spot, while New York is 4.0 games behind the last AL Wild Card position.
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