Getty Image
Angel Hernandez is back at it, getting off to a rough start in the 2024 MLB season. The umpire was behind the plate for a game between the Mets and the Tigers on Thursday, and he ended his day with an egregious check swing call against Detroit.
Luckily, it didn’t come back to bite the Tigers, who won the game 6-3 in extra innings.
Hernandez was graded as baseball’s worst blue last year, averaging about 16 missed calls per outing while also recording the lowest graded game for any umpire.
He’s often made negative headlines for his mistakes and is quite possibly the game’s most well-known official for all the wrong reasons.
He may have somehow outdone himself this week.
During the top of the 11th inning during a game between Detroit and New York, the Tigers found themselves up three runs and ready to widen the gap.
Spencer Torkelson stepped up to the dish with the bases loaded, seeing a two-strike pitch make its way towards the batter’s box. Torkelson started his swing but stopped well short of breaking the plane. He also appeared to be hit in the hand by the pitch, which caused the Tigers to challenge the call in hopes of landing another baserunner and plating a run.
That challenge failed, with Angel Hernandez ruling that Torkelson actually swung through the delivery, resulting in a strikeout and the effective end of the frame.
The broadcast booth was in disbelief.
so ángel hernández said this was a swing 😮 pic.twitter.com/QCoIqXAZPI
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) April 5, 2024
“He didn’t swing at all,” an announcer said while holding back laughter. “That is wild… There’s no way he can call that a strike. Unbelievable.”
Believe it!
It probably shouldn’t be a surprise at this point given Hernandez’s history, and in this case, not even replay could help him out!
The blown call wouldn’t come back to bite as the Tigers ended the game with a scoreless bottom half of the inning. Still, it robbed Spencer Torkelson of an RBI and Detroit of at least one more run.
Not great!