The baseball word has learned, this past weekend, that much-maligned umpire Angel Hernandez has chosen to retire from baseball.
He has been an umpire since 1991, drawing the ire and frustration from fans and players (and managers, of course) alike.
Los Angeles Angels insider Sam Blum posted some details about Hernandez’s (and MLB’s) decision to step away from the game.
As it turns out, the league approached him with the idea of retiring and he was on board.
“Angel Hernandez’s lawyer, Kevin Murphy, told me via text that ‘He was NOT forced out’ by MLB. A source w/ knowledge told @Ken_Rosenthal that MLB approached Hernandez about moving on from umping. And he agreed,” Blum tweeted.
For years, Hernandez was statistically one of the worst umpires in the league.
His missed calls and his sometimes defiant attitude towards players and managers made him something of a villain figure in the sport.
Hernandez has been, without a doubt, one of the reasons why fans have clamored for the automated strike zone to be implemented in Major League Baseball.
However, it’s important to clarify that the league did approach him with the idea of retiring, but it didn’t force him to make the decision at least according to the information available.
Hernandez and MLB have been negotiating a settlement for the last couple of weeks and reportedly reached an agreement this past weekend.
He has accumulated over 30 years of experience as an MLB umpire, and while most people have a negative opinion of the quality of his work, it’s not easy to stay in a position, any position, for that long.
In any case, we wish Hernandez a happy retirement and quality time with his family, which is what he wants.
