Infamous MLB Umpire Retires…Finally

Just about a month ago, infamous umpire Angel Hernandez was back in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. In a game between the Houston Astros & Texas Rangers, he called three consecutive balls for strikes. Unlike some baseball fans, I'm much more forgiving and understanding of umpires. You're trying to call a 95 mph ball with movement a ball or strike...so yeah, occasionally you're going to miss a few.

But, in the case of Angel Hernandez, he just doesn't miss a few close ones. He misses a lot by a large margin. That takes us back to the game between the Astros & Rangers. According to Umpire Auditor, who is an independent Twitter account that ranks umpire performance, he called a ball nearly 7 inches outside the strike zone a strike - which is a record since they've been tracking umpire performance (since 2014). Just look at the video:

Anybody can have a bad day at the office, right? But, in the case of Angel Hernandez, he seemed to have a bad day at the office every time he was at the office. He's had run-ins over bad calls with some of the greatest players in the game: Mike Piazza, Bryce Harper, CC Sabathia, Pedro Martinez...I mean you name a player that's been in the league since 1991 when Angel started, they've probably had some issue with the man.

To say he was disliked in the baseball world is probably an understatement.

With that said, it appears that his reign of terror is finally over. After 3 tumultuous decades in the game, Angel Hernandez has announced that he is retiring - effective immediately. Here's the official statement from Angel Hernandez:

Starting with my first Major League game in 1991, I have had the very good experience of living out my childhood dream of umpiring in the major leagues.

There is nothing better than working at a profession that you enjoy. I treasured the camaraderie of my colleagues and the friendships I have made along the way, including our locker room attendants in all the various cities.

I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family.

Needless to say, there have been many positive changes in the game of baseball since I first entered the profession. This includes the expansion and promotion of minorities. I am proud that I was able to be an active participant in that goal while being a Major League umpire.

In most professional sports, you generally don't know the name & history of the umpires or refs. In the case of Angel Hernandez, love him or hate him, baseball will forever know his name.