This past weekend, MLB and Angel Hernandez himself both confirmed that the umpire will be retiring from active duty after more than 30 years in his role.
His first game as an MLB umpire was in 1991, and his last was a few days ago, in 2024.
Hernandez, as you might know if you have followed baseball at all in the past few years, has been the center of controversy for some of his lousy calls at the plate and also on the bases.
He has been mocked, ridiculed, and criticized by many because he was, as the evidence suggests, decidedly bad at his job for at least a few years now.
That’s not an excuse for the disrespect, but the fact is fans were clamoring for his retirement and he finally caved in.
He has had some people defend him in the last few days, including New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
The Athletic gathered some impressions of Hernandez’s retirement around the league, and the Boone quote stands out.
“I think he’s wrongly been the poster child to be a punching bag for officiating,” the skipper said.
Ángel Hernández is retiring. So how did the baseball world react?
“I guess he must have had enough,” Ron Washington said.@CodyStavenhagen and @SamBlum3 got reaction from around MLB ⤵️https://t.co/s3ZHZqB7hB pic.twitter.com/ZMpJFhV0aD
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 29, 2024
It’s noteworthy to see Boone, who is continually fighting with umpires and is among the league leaders in ejections in recent seasons, defending Hernandez.
Boone also said that there are worse umpires out there, clarifying that he doesn’t think Hernandez is the worst at what he did.
Hernandez might be a villain in the eyes and minds of the public, but Boone is willing to defend his legacy.
It’s certainly shocking, and shows that opinions about Hernandez from the inside are not that bad.
