MLB umpire Angel Hernandez wasted no time making his presence felt in his return to the majors on Monday.
The 61-year-old had been out since April due to a medical issue. He had a brief stint in the minors for a rehab assignment before finally returning to the MLB as the second base umpire for the Monday’s game between Milwaukee Brewers and Washington Nationals.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Nationals outfielder Alex Call tried to steal second base. While he initially appeared to have been tagged out, Hernandez signaled that he was safe. The Brewers challenged the call, and multiple angles confirmed that Call was tagged well before he touched second base.
Put bluntly, it wasn’t even close.
Welcome back, Ángel Hernández! 😂 pic.twitter.com/iIhEiq7Sj2
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 1, 2023
Just a few days prior, his Triple-A rehab was more of the same.
Ángel Hernández’s balls and strikes calls from his rehab assignment in AAA last night…
looks like he’s in mid-season form pic.twitter.com/bnqFwtDXhQ
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) July 26, 2023
Unfortunately for both Hernandez and fans, blown calls like that have become expected of him. As the home plate umpire, he’s had more than a few poorly-called games and regularly infuriates batters. Last season, Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber completely lost it when Hernandez continually missed balls and strikes for both sides during the game.
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