Umpire Angel Hernandez still has his fastball.
And by fastball, we mean his penchant for bad calls.
Hernandez, universally regarded by fans as one of Major League Baseball’s worst umpires, returned to umpiring Monday night after being sidelined for more than three months with a back injury.
It took just one game for Hernandez to draw the ire of fans, all the while making himself an easy target of jokes.
During the fifth inning of Monday’s game between the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers, Hernandez blew a call at second base, calling Nationals outfielder Alex Call safe on a steal when Brewers shortstop Willy Adams clearly tagged Call before he reached the base.
The 61-year-old umpire did not have a great look at the tag and the call was ultimately overturned after the Brewers challenged Hernandez’s ruling.
The Nationals would go on for a 5-3 victory.
Although a Monday night Nats-Brewers game may not have been appointment television, the internet certainly had a field day with Hernandez’s blunder.
Plenty of Twitter users ripped the controversial umpire for yet another noticeable mistake, with one fan quipping, “Angel Hernandez is definitely back.”
Monday marked Hernandez’s first major league game since April 3.
Hernandez warmed up for his return to the majors by umpiring in the minor leagues.
That “rehab” stint, to use baseball terminology, went as well for Hernandez as expected when he umpired a Triple-A game between the Charlotte Knights and Durham Bills.
His balls and strikes calls for the game left much to be desired, to put it kindly.
Hernandez has retained his job despite being known for his bad calls and even sued MLB in 2017 for alleged racial discrimination, claiming that was the reason why he had not umpired a World Series since 2005, nor served as a crew chief.
He lost.
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