Ángel Hernández, the polarizing veteran umpire who has drawn the ire of players, managers, and fans over his three-decade career, is retiring from Major League Baseball on Tuesday, according to a high-ranking baseball official who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak publicly before MLB’s official announcement.
MLB and Hernández had spent the past two weeks negotiating a financial settlement, reaching a resolution over the weekend. Hernández, 62, worked his last game on May 9 as the home-plate umpire in the Chicago White Sox’s 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians at Guaranteed Rate Field.
He was replaced on the crew by Jacob Metz and did not return.
Hernández, known as baseball’s most controversial umpire, filed a racial discrimination lawsuit in 2017 against MLB, claiming he was passed over for a crew chief position and World Series assignments due to his race.
He last umpired a World Series game in 2005 and a League Championship Series in 2016.
The lawsuit was dismissed in U.S. District Court in 2021, and the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the decision last year, stating that Hernández failed to establish a statistically significant disparity between the promotion rates of white and minority umpires.
“MLB has provided persuasive expert evidence demonstrating that, during the years at issue, the difference in crew chief promotion rates between white and minority umpires was not statistically significant. Hernández offers no explanation as to why MLB’s statistical evidence is unreliable,” the appeals court noted in its decision.
A Cuban-American, Hernández began his umpiring career at the age of 20 in the Florida State League and was promoted to a full-time MLB umpire in 1993.
In recent years, he was considered by many players and managers to be the game’s worst umpire.
Social media criticism peaked on April 12 this season when Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford struck out on three consecutive pitches that were outside the strike zone.
According to Umpire Auditor, Hernández missed seven other pitches that were at least three inches outside the strike zone.
“Ángel was horrible,” said an anonymous player. “Don’t get me going on Ángel now. Major League Baseball needs to do something about Ángel. It doesn’t matter how many times he sues Major League Baseball, he’s as bad as there is.”
Former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia echoed this sentiment:
“I don’t understand why he’s doing these games. He’s always bad. He’s a bad umpire.”
Despite public opinion, MLB’s statistical studies and reports did not consider Hernández the worst umpire.
However, in the court of public opinion, there was widespread belief that he missed more calls than any other home-plate umpire.
Now, Hernández is stepping away from the game, leaving behind the ridicule and mockery that have long followed his career.
