A controversial legend decided to call it a career today as Ángel Hernández officially announced his retirement after serving as a professional umpire since 1991. Those who know Hernandez may know him for his rather controversial incidents, and he wasn’t fondly liked by players, coaches, and fans of his wide strike zone and rather questionable calls, which led to him becoming the poster boy of bad refereeing in the business.
That's just one example of a hilariously bad call, to the point that my grandma could call a better game than him, and that’s saying something.
Despite how bad an Umpire he was throughout his career, he still had the opportunity to umpire three All-Star Games, eight League Championship Series, plus two World Series and a one-off run in the World Baseball Classic.
Unlike other umpires, Hernandez has a track record of being one of the worst in the MLB. As early as 1999, he was voted as one of the bottom five worst umpires in the league and got as low as the third worst umpire in the league on two separate occasions, once in 2006 and the other in 2011, both years that the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series.
As of 2024, MLB umps have an average accuracy rating of 94% per game. His rating this season was at 93.3% in eight games but typically sits in the 91% range within an entire season. It's not too terrible until you remember he holds the record for the worst game ever, with an 84% accuracy rating.
Numbers from the 2024 MLB season, not surprisingly the numbers aren’t pretty.
It is an understatement to say the entire MLB, from its players to staff to fans, is relieved to see the poster boy take a seat.
“The worst umpire in baseball” is officially gone, folks. We can finally take a deep breath. The problem of bad umpires isn’t fixed, but it’s much better.
Enjoy retirement, Ángel Hernández, and keep Cancun warm for the rest of us.
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