New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has spoken out in defense of outgoing MLB umpire Angel Hernández, suggesting that Angel Hernandez has been unfairly targeted and labeled as the face of poor umpiring in baseball.
Speaking on the Talkin’ Baseball podcast, Boone argued that Angel Hernandez has been unjustly singled out compared to his peers. “I think he’s been unfairly made the poster child or the face of bad umpiring,” Boone stated, indicating that the criticism directed at Hernandez may be excessive and not entirely reflective of his performance.
The Yankees have been dissatisfied with Angel Hernandez in April
Over a month ago, Aaron Boone had a contentious episode with Angel Hernandez. On April 7, the umpire was involved in another controversial call during the New York Yankees game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Boos erupted before the game as Angel Hernandez was introduced as the home plate umpire. The discontent of the crowd was soon potentially justified.
Leading off the bottom of the first inning, Gleyber Torres worked a 3-2 count against Bowden Francis. Francis then appeared to take a step off the back of the mound before proceeding with his delivery. Torres backed out of the box, seemingly thinking that Francis had stepped off the mound, only for Hernandez to call a strike three on a pitch that was a few inches above the strike zone.
Torres and manager Aaron Boone argued the call with Angel Hernandez. All four umpires converged for a brief discussion but ultimately upheld the original decision. The outcome was met with further boos from Bronx supporters inside the stadium.
Boone spoke with Angel Hernandez again after the game and walked away visibly displeased.
With Angel Hernandez’s retirement announced, his reputation among some former Yankees players resurfaced. The 62-year-old umpire had been working in MLB since 2000 but hadn’t overseen a World Series game since 2005, possibly due to his controversial decisions.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
As much as I stick up for Boone because I don’t believe he is the real manager, making the final decisions, he was just stupid to say anything about Angel Hernandez, good or bad. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
He was terrible and I hate to talk about umpires like that,because it is an extremely difficult job… just not up to the task… Take sone lessons fro the great Jeff Nelson… one of the best to ever call a game