VIDEO: Angel Hernandez Misses Back to Back Obvious Strike Calls and No One is Surprised
By Chris Pyo
Angel Hernandez was back behind the plate missing even more obvious strike calls. What a surprise. In the Pirates vs. Marlins game Thursday night, Hernandez missed back-to-back calls on Marlins hitter Garrett Cooper and the Pirates broadcast booth could not have been more dumbfounded.
If anyone wants to defend Hernandez by saying "Oh, the catcher made it difficult for him to see how they were strikes based on how he was set up," that's complete and utter nonsense. The strike zone is the strike zone, and Hernandez should be more than able to identify when a pitch crosses over the plate above the knees. He's been an MLB umpire since 1991.
We've already seen instances where Hernandez's blunders and missed calls affected the outcome of an entire game. He's so consistently bad at calling balls and strikes that it's becoming comical.
In case you've avoided seeing some of Hernandez's most outrageously incorrect calls, here are a couple more clips displaying his inadequacy as an umpire.
But there's more!
Yes, umpires are only human after all, and of course they make mistakes. They're definitely feeling the pressure after the Atlantic League recently began to utilize robot umpires to call pitches.
If anything, however, Hernandez is proving over and over again why robot umpires might be more beneficial for baseball in the long run, something that was perhaps unthinkable five years ago.
Great job, Angel.