Umpire Ángel Hernández gets roasted on Twitter after having three calls overturned
By the fourth inning of Game 3 of the American League Division Series, the New York Yankees had fallen behind 10-0 to the Boston Red Sox. Yet, you could make the argument that they weren’t having the worst night of anyone at Yankee Stadium.
That honor — or dishonor — would instead go to umpire Ángel Hernández, who by the fourth inning had managed to have three calls flagged for review and overturned by replay umpires. Three! It’s the type of futility you have to marvel at, and in a sport where fans often just accept that the umpires are going to blow calls.
Of the umpires that fans know by name, Hernández is at the top of the list. And not because he’s the Mike Trout of umpires. Let’s look at Hernández’s overturned moments from Game 3:
The first overturned call came on a second-inning bunt from Didi Gregorius, who was called safe and eventually ruled out.
.@RedSox challenge call that Didi Gregorius is safe at 1B in the 2nd; call overturned, runner is out.
Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/PenfubgKjm
— MLB Replay (@MLBReplays) October 9, 2018
The next play came in the second inning. Gleyber Torres was called out on the field but ruled safe after replay.
.@Yankees challenge call that Gleyber Torres is out at 1B in the 3rd; call overturned, runner is safe.
Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/YmZ4QJLKET
— MLB Replay (@MLBReplays) October 9, 2018
The third call involved Gregorius again, who didn’t even bother leaving first base because he knew he was safe and it would be overturned:
Tough night for umpire Angel Hernandez. Call overturned. pic.twitter.com/KDjRkEDRsO
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) October 9, 2018
As can you can imagine, Hernández’s early calls left plenty of room for criticism from people on Twitter, starting with MLB pitchers Brandon McCarthy and Brett Anderson:
Yanks can score 10 more and win in an all time come back and this will still forever be the 'Angel Hernandez game' for me.
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) October 9, 2018
Angel Hernandez should take a lap
— Brett Anderson (@_BAnderson30_) October 9, 2018
Thankfully Angel Hernandez wasn't in on Brown v. Board of Education. It would have been overturned
— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) October 9, 2018
letting my "what would angel hernandez do" bracelet lead my life decisions this evening
— Desus Nice (@desusnice) October 9, 2018
A broken clock is right twice a day, Angel Hernandez once.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) October 9, 2018
To be fair, Angel Hernandez is 1-4 tonight, better than most of the Yankees
— Cespedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) October 9, 2018
Angel Hernandez is suing MLB for discrimination. MLB should be countersuing for malpractice.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 9, 2018
A match made in heaven!!! 😍😍 pic.twitter.com/gDpFzNtv9m
— MLB Memes (@MLBMeme) October 9, 2018
Is Angel Hernandez normally this bad? Or is this a bit of postseason jitters? According to data collected by Close Call Sports, Hernandez had 13 of 22 challenges overturned this season, which means he was right 40.9% of the time in challenged calls. League-wide in 2017, that percentage was 52.69.
Now guess what happens to Hernandez! Nothing. He gets to call balls and strikes in Game 4.
If any player performed like Angel Hernandez tonight he would be in jeopardy of being benched. Hernandez gets home plate in a playoff game tomorrow.
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) October 9, 2018
At least balls and strikes aren’t reviewable.
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Mike Oz is a writer at Yahoo Sports. Contact him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
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