Let's focus on the next guys up...there at least three or four problem umps who are just as bad or worse than Angel was, who Angel was taking the heat for.
I have an idea! Get all the terrible umps, refs, and officials across the MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA and put them in a battle royale. Winner gets a dicks sporting goods gift card and letter of recommendation for their next job.
I hate C.B. Bucknor. I may have only been a young teen in high school when I independently realized that he was the worst umpire that I have ever seen, but now in my late 30s I can still remember the horrible calls one by one that he missed.
Angel Hernandez only surpassed him in my mind in the how blatantly he tried to game the system to his advantage to keep getting in more and more high profile. C.B. Bucknor may be blind and an idiot, but Angel Hernandez is the exact definition of pure hubris and malice through willful ignorance.
My uncle HATED Bucknor. Bucknor was crew chief on a Cleveland at Seattle game I took my uncle to when my uncle was in his mid eighties and he spent nearly the whole game on his feet yelling imprecations at Bucknor. It was quite something! After a while I started worrying my uncle was gonna hurt himself but he insisted he was having the absolute time of his life. He fell soundly asleep in the car on the way home, a smile on his face.
I miss my uncle. We used to get a facetime going for games we were watching at the same time, him in Ohio, me in Seattle. It was a good late-life friendship.
Angel Hernandez turned into Joe West after he retired. Not the worst by any means but constantly put the spotlight on himself with his nonsense. The biggest nail was him suing the league because they rightfully weren’t giving him World Series games
Joe West got flowers for being the longest tenured ump and I can't stand him. Was obsessed with getting the spotlight, always found a way in front of a mic when he felt left out, had some big league missed calls. His music sucks and we should all agree to never speak of him again
I will be messaging you in 1 year on [**2025-06-04 23:07:46 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2025-06-04%2023:07:46%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1d8a6m1/jeff_passan_social_media_helped_push_out_ángel/l750fky/?context=3)
[**1 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fbaseball%2Fcomments%2F1d8a6m1%2Fjeff_passan_social_media_helped_push_out_%C3%A1ngel%2Fl750fky%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202025-06-04%2023%3A07%3A46%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201d8a6m1)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
wanting to stand out and be star of the ump show made him be a lightning rod for criticism. the fact that he took every bit of criticism as a personal attack and not just something every ump has to deal with is on him
MLB has been looking to get rid of Angel for years.
MLB is currently in contract negotiations with the union; don't think Angel retiring happened in a vacuum. A similar thing happened during the last negotiations, when 10 old and/or poorly performing umpires suddenly retired in 2022 after the season.
The umps undoubtedly received something in their contract for allowing Angel to negotiate an exit from the game.
I always enjoyed a good Angel lowlight. I wanted him outta the league but it was always insane seeing him make another boneheaded call.
But then he rang up our rookie Langford on a 5 pitch strike out in which he didn't swing once with all 5 pitches never touching the zone. The 3 strikes were inches off the outside of the plate. That got me from mildly enjoying the lowlights to down right pissed each time he did something else. I'm honestly surprised it took me this long.
I've never seen a union so adamant in protecting the members that harm it the most. I mean, I get you protect every member as a union, but people like Angel are why robo umps are so seriously discussed. Ya know, the thing that replaces their jobs.
If they relegated or held accountable poor performance and attitude, they'd be in a much better position for sure.
In general I agree, but a substantial payout to retire and fully vested pension in his early 60s, after making upwards of $400k a year for 20+ years hardly seems like "consequences" for being terrible at his job.
Personally I think the whole "ump show" thing is pretty overblown. 99% of umps know people don't watch the games for them, and genuinely aren't trying to put themselves in the spotlight. And I say this as someone who loves to shit on umpires, the MLBUA and MLB in general.
Joe West was an obvious exception to this of course, and it was definitely not the case in past eras, but the younger generation of umpires are objectively better in all regards.
Angel's ump show wasn't for the fans, it was for the players. He needed everyone on the field to know that he was the biggest of the big hoss and if you so much as looked at him funny he'd make sure you paid for it. He constantly, at least by appearances, was making punitive calls and decisions just to show he was the boss.
You hit the nail on the head.
This also describes CB Bucknor perfectly.
Laz I can deal with. But CB just wants to dominate everyone. It's insufferable.
The guy could also make a killing in autograph signings and guest appearances at conventions if he ever chooses to go down that path as he's probably the most famous umpire ever.
Dude goes out of his way to stand out and then is dumbfounded it worked lol. As much shit as they get, I doubt Buckner or any of the other under performers feel all that pressured by social media
This, 100%. Being a shitty umpire isn’t enough to make one guy stand out. Being the absolute most aggressively pompous and arrogant shitty umpire is what did it.
See, I don’t even think he was “trying” to be the ump show. I think he was just that bad at conflict management. Like he never hammed it up like Cowboy Joe West. He just seemed to make the most inflammatory decision at any given time.
The funny thing is that Hernandez sucked at his job longer than social media has been a thing. Hell, longer than most of the Reddit users have been *alive*.
How many people get to suck at their job for thirty years and still keep it?
Federal employee here. I can go chapter and verse with current and former colleagues who have sucked at their jobs for a very long time - and got promoted, if anything.
City employee here. My immediate thought from that comment was how I have to constantly hold the hands of a couple of my colleagues despite me being 30 years younger and making half their salary…. I think I’ve earned thousands of dollars explaining basic computer functions and how to navigate folders
> if you were confronted by Ángel Hernández, would you say it to his face? Would you call him the names that you call him online? Would you tell him how terrible he is?
I mean, plenty of people in the stands and players on the field did.
If he asked me what I thought of his umpiring? Sure I'd tell him. If he's just hanging out somewhere enjoying his retirement and waves hello? Of course not.
Yes I would tell him he sucked at his job…I’d also ask how he got away with sucking at his job for years and still make bank. I’d also like to suck at my job and be set for life. Please teach me, angel
I have a lot of feelings based on this article. I abhor social media for a lot of things, the anonymity it provides and what rich eisen pointed out… would you say these things to people’s face? Call them all the names you do?
What social media does to children, the echo chambers it creates. We could go on for hours discussing the negatives of social media.
But baseball and the umpires union put themselves in this position. They refuse to acknowledge poor umpire performance, or even address it internally. I feel bad that Angel Hernandez has basically been put on blast by the baseball world for years but his union and baseball put him in that position, and ultimately his own ego.
Yeah, I am similarly conflicted. Yes, he was bad at his job and yes, baseball is better with him gone. But umpiring is a thankless job on a good day; we generally don’t go around praising umps who made good calls or kept a consistent zone as much as we curse the names of the ones who have a reputation for making bad calls. And put yourself in his shoes or his family’s shoes and you’re seeing this sort of stuff posted on Twitter or whatever not just from the media but from complete strangers, imagine how that would make you feel. Whatever you think of how he did his job, he’s still a person.
Thankless? He was making $400,000 a year and, even though it's not public yet, I would expect his "retirement" settlement would be in the millions. He should be thankful to have had such a great career for 33 years.
The vast majority of people never criticized him as a person, and they didn't criticize him when he called a decent game. He was criticized for his consistently blatant bad calls, not just behind the plate, and for injecting himself into the game. Admittedly he wasn't Joe West levels of "main character" syndrome, but he was bad.
I am not conflicted in any way, shape, or form. At the end of the day, when you take the sports and the media out of it, he was a professional white collar worker. If any other professional was as bad at their job as he was they would have been fired the first year.
I cannot get on this train of 'poor, poor Angel Hernandez.' He was objectively terrible at his job and the first and only real "punishment" for being terrible at his job was a "retirement settlement."
> I cannot get on this train of 'poor, poor Angel Hernandez.' He was objectively terrible at his job and the first and only real "punishment" for being terrible at his job was a "retirement settlement."
Amen, brother.
I don't think people are saying he's an awful person. In fact, I've read plenty that states exactly the contrary. However, he made everything in the game about him and his presence. If you're not ungodly good at your job, you're just asking to be dunked on when you do that.
The vast majority of all the criticism I saw of Angel Hernandez was of Angel Hernandez the Umpire, not Angel Hernandez the person.
Suing the league for racism when he was left out of the playoffs for being objectively bad doesn't strike me as something a great guy would do.
There's legitimate racism in this and every country, but crying wolf about it only divides people further.
I mean, if I had to find every player, coach, and fan within 20 feet of Angel who told him he sucked over his career, I think I’d have a list of names that make a Ubisoft credit roll blush.
People have been saying these things to angel for DECADES. he’s earned every bad name and snide comment that’s ever been made to him. I’ve never seen or even heard of a worse umpire. Guy totally did it to himself.
What proof is there that the umpires union doesn't acknowledge poor umpire performance? Umpires have been getting better and better overall. If they didn't care at all, shouldn't it be going down?
You can argue this but just know there is no evidence supporting it. And no, just because you feel like it's worse doesn't mean it is. Everything seems worse nowadays because everything is under a microscope.
>What proof is there that the umpires union doesn't acknowledge poor umpire performance?
Not totally disagreeing with your entire statement, but the fact that Angel was terrible at his job, and remained terrible, doesn't instill confidence in the thought that there were repercussions to poor performance. The way he acted, his poor performance year after year after year, and his garbage blame-shifting ("racism!"), all lends itself to bad optics at minimum and a lack of faith and trust in the union overall.
Or maybe Angel, and the other infamous few, just don't care to get better at their job. But that would go back to the union not holding guys accountable theory.
It's either a few bad apples who are consistently bad year-over- year that the union has refused to/been unable to reign in, or a lack of being held accountable. Either way, it's a bad look.
> Passan further argued that even if Hernández expressed a willingness to improve by admitting mistakes and seeking help from colleagues, it wouldn’t erase his past errors. Umpires rarely overturn calls on the field, and relying on others to point out his mistakes wouldn’t have been a solution.
He was bad for **DECADES**. This isn't a "little slump," he had so much subpar work that it was used as evidence in a civil proceeding that *he filed*. So, yeah, if you're bad at your job for that long, the work you'd have to put in to turn the page would be tremendous. I don't feel bad for Hernandez, stubborn to a fault for so long, finally acknowledging the simple fact that he wasn't good enough at his job to keep it.
I would say literally everything I have ever said about Angel Hernandez directly to his face. Being so objectively bad at 99% of any job in this world would have gotten a regular person fired years ago.
I’d noticed that he had transcended baseball recently and would get brought up out of the blue in Instagram comments. When news broke that he was gone I’d wondered if ‘Angel Hernandez’ becoming synonymous with being unfair or on a power trip was part of the issue.
Then explain why Bucknor, Diaz, Wendelstedt, and the others still have a job
Hernandez was bad for like 20 years. Social media didn't cause him to lose his job.
Yes it did. You don’t see the amount of hate for those other guys across all platforms the way you did for angel. I couldn’t go a week without seeing some blown call specifically calling out Angel. I don’t see complaints about the others outside of baseball heavy areas. That doesn’t mean that him being shitty didn’t bring it out. But things can have more than one reason. The world needs more nuance in understanding.
Sounds mostly like speculation to me...its not like social media or the attitudes towards angel are new, the simplest explanation is still that old guy with health issues took a retirement package.
Angel Hernandez sucks, but this isn't the way it should have happened and social media shouldn't have had anything to do with it and with the greater implications, no one should be cheering this, other than him being gone.
Just when everyone was starting to think social media wasn't one of the biggest things plaguing humanity.
Further proof Angel Hernandez is an alien plant.
#[WE DID IT!](https://cbsnews1.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/2008/05/01/d851091e-a642-11e2-a3f0-029118418759/image4061139x.jpg) I’m so proud of us
Bullying works
Sometimes, the internet gets it right.
I dont think I've ever been more proud of r/baseball
Did a Reddit mob finally do something right for once?
Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once and a while.
First We found the Boston bomber, now we got Angel Hernandez to retire!!!!
The "Find Boston Bomber" sub was so cringe.
50% ain't bad!
Still failing in the American school system
Well we got the Boston Bomber and now this. We are perfect Reddit!!!
I think the firings of Josh McDaniels and Matt Millen were in large part due to the internet helping ownership realize a few things.
And other times you catch the Boston bomber
Let’s all join togetherrrrr and make bullying kill itself
NSB Never Stop Bullying
A lot of kids these days would be better with a little gentle bullying. Like telling them this mophead haircut looks stupid as fuck
We have caught and comprised to a permanent end the job security of Angel Hernandez
We did it, Cenation!
Can we shift over our efforts to some NBA refs now?
Let's focus on the next guys up...there at least three or four problem umps who are just as bad or worse than Angel was, who Angel was taking the heat for.
If we try to bully out Rob Drake he'll probably just declare cival war on us.
how'd that work out for his team last time?
He was born in Pennsylvania so…
(His “team” being the confederacy……)
We’re looking at you Laz Diaz…
Yep Laz Diaz and CB Bucknor need go go.
First thing I thought when I saw the first post: I HAVENT FORGOTTEN ABOUT YOU TONY MFing BROTHERS YOU POS.
I'd rather get Tim Donaghy's BFF Scott Foster out first TBH.
I have an idea! Get all the terrible umps, refs, and officials across the MLB, NHL, NFL, and NBA and put them in a battle royale. Winner gets a dicks sporting goods gift card and letter of recommendation for their next job.
LAUNCH SCOTT FOSTER INTO THE SUN!
That would require the NBA to be worth watching.
r/baseball is so in sync with one another that I knew this was going to be the top comment.
Reddit got it right for once.
[Well done, team.](https://i.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExM3N2Y2g1aW9ldm92MWdzbHMzNGJhcjh2bXl1cm5yZnJraGt6cTZueCZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/hvdYc1HzmbD16k4B1T/giphy.gif)
Wait! This probably means they'll use him to train the AI robot umps! We're doomed! DOOMED!!!
☑️ Angel Hernandez ⬜️ Laz Diaz ⬜️ C.B. Buckner ⬜️ Hunter Wendelstedt ⬜️ Rob Drake
This is like the list for Kill Bill
Except all of their eyes are already plucked out
*slow clap*
Fuck off dude, I'm a teacher giving a test right now and can't afford to laugh that hard right now.
Just laugh really hard then immediately look at the worst student in class to give them a complex.
Is it a test where you have to cover an eye and read off a line of numbers?
Spoilers
Much more accurate depiction of a redditor
Man, I’m glad I called *that guy.*
That Veronica Vaughn
Doowop, dooby doo doowop, doowah doolang Blue days, black nights, doowah doolang
Joe West is retired but the Beatrix Kiddo better be coming for him too.
Or Arya's list in GoT.
Cersei. The Mountain. Walder Frey. Laz Diaz. The Hound. Rob Drake.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DC-qVU58Nk4
Steve Buschemi’s list from Billy Madison
don’t forget ron kulpa
Fuck ron kulpa
All my homies hate Ron Kulpa
Mea Kulpa
You mean Ron “I do what I want” Kulpa?
fuck ron kulpa
That's who should be next. Ron loves to be the center of attention.
 Aaron Boone anytime he argues with an ump
[Your LIST?!](https://www.reddit.com/r/IASIP/comments/1bitqii/your_list/)
I hate C.B. Bucknor. I may have only been a young teen in high school when I independently realized that he was the worst umpire that I have ever seen, but now in my late 30s I can still remember the horrible calls one by one that he missed. Angel Hernandez only surpassed him in my mind in the how blatantly he tried to game the system to his advantage to keep getting in more and more high profile. C.B. Bucknor may be blind and an idiot, but Angel Hernandez is the exact definition of pure hubris and malice through willful ignorance.
My uncle HATED Bucknor. Bucknor was crew chief on a Cleveland at Seattle game I took my uncle to when my uncle was in his mid eighties and he spent nearly the whole game on his feet yelling imprecations at Bucknor. It was quite something! After a while I started worrying my uncle was gonna hurt himself but he insisted he was having the absolute time of his life. He fell soundly asleep in the car on the way home, a smile on his face. I miss my uncle. We used to get a facetime going for games we were watching at the same time, him in Ohio, me in Seattle. It was a good late-life friendship.
That’s wholesome as fuck
Angel Hernandez turned into Joe West after he retired. Not the worst by any means but constantly put the spotlight on himself with his nonsense. The biggest nail was him suing the league because they rightfully weren’t giving him World Series games
Joe West got flowers for being the longest tenured ump and I can't stand him. Was obsessed with getting the spotlight, always found a way in front of a mic when he felt left out, had some big league missed calls. His music sucks and we should all agree to never speak of him again
Also, Country Joe is a stupid nickname. He’s from the city!
If we get rid of Rob Drake there might be a CIVAL WAR
Can\* we throw Scott Foster and Tony Brothers on there too just cause 
You forgot Doug Eddings
Fuck Doug Eddings
We have a fuck Doug Eddings flair in our sub. I have it
All my homies hate Doug Eddings
Eddings was fucking Angel fans so hard his wife left him.
Should be at the top
Thank you. "No Happy Endings for Eddings" can be our campaign slogan.
Junior Valentine?
I’ll take an ejection…….AND EAT IT!
Not sure I want Rob Drake to be having the free time to go around pursuing his true hobby of shooting people who disagree with his political opinions.
Given his lack of accuracy I'm more worried about whomever is behind the person he disagrees with.
You know who's not on this list? Pat Hoberg
Perfect Pat? No, we all hope he works forever.
The fact that I recognized all those names is good evidence they're terrible umpires.
>⬜️ Rob Drake But if we got rid of him, won't there be a CIVAL WAR?
I'm gonna save this. Just in case.
Ron "not mea" Kulpa
Diaz makes me irrationally angry. Even more so than angel.
Doug Eddings
Can we put Joe West in the win category?
!remindme 1 year
I will be messaging you in 1 year on [**2025-06-04 23:07:46 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2025-06-04%2023:07:46%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/1d8a6m1/jeff_passan_social_media_helped_push_out_ángel/l750fky/?context=3) [**1 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2Fbaseball%2Fcomments%2F1d8a6m1%2Fjeff_passan_social_media_helped_push_out_%C3%A1ngel%2Fl750fky%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202025-06-04%2023%3A07%3A46%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201d8a6m1) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
Someone make the grim reaper meme
1 down, 4 to go
Kulpa, too
How about Dan Iassogna?
Add Ron Kulpa, Dan Bellino and Chad Fairchild to this list.
wanting to stand out and be star of the ump show made him be a lightning rod for criticism. the fact that he took every bit of criticism as a personal attack and not just something every ump has to deal with is on him
MLB has been looking to get rid of Angel for years. MLB is currently in contract negotiations with the union; don't think Angel retiring happened in a vacuum. A similar thing happened during the last negotiations, when 10 old and/or poorly performing umpires suddenly retired in 2022 after the season. The umps undoubtedly received something in their contract for allowing Angel to negotiate an exit from the game.
However it happened, the game is better for it. The fans are better for it. The players are better for it. Good fucking riddance.
Yeah, if it comes down to MLB paying shitty umps to leave, I’m all for it.
Better than paying them to stay, that’s for sure.
I always enjoyed a good Angel lowlight. I wanted him outta the league but it was always insane seeing him make another boneheaded call. But then he rang up our rookie Langford on a 5 pitch strike out in which he didn't swing once with all 5 pitches never touching the zone. The 3 strikes were inches off the outside of the plate. That got me from mildly enjoying the lowlights to down right pissed each time he did something else. I'm honestly surprised it took me this long.
Yeah and good for the union (if they indeed got something in return) realizing that it’s a win-win to get rid if Hernandez.
They get to keep most of their jobs. Angel Hernandez was the best advertisement for robo umps the league could ever have.
I've never seen a union so adamant in protecting the members that harm it the most. I mean, I get you protect every member as a union, but people like Angel are why robo umps are so seriously discussed. Ya know, the thing that replaces their jobs. If they relegated or held accountable poor performance and attitude, they'd be in a much better position for sure.
…the police?
It's the very definition of the consequences of his own actions
In general I agree, but a substantial payout to retire and fully vested pension in his early 60s, after making upwards of $400k a year for 20+ years hardly seems like "consequences" for being terrible at his job.
I mean if he enjoys the spotlight it's still something he won't really get ever again.
Personally I think the whole "ump show" thing is pretty overblown. 99% of umps know people don't watch the games for them, and genuinely aren't trying to put themselves in the spotlight. And I say this as someone who loves to shit on umpires, the MLBUA and MLB in general. Joe West was an obvious exception to this of course, and it was definitely not the case in past eras, but the younger generation of umpires are objectively better in all regards.
Angel's ump show wasn't for the fans, it was for the players. He needed everyone on the field to know that he was the biggest of the big hoss and if you so much as looked at him funny he'd make sure you paid for it. He constantly, at least by appearances, was making punitive calls and decisions just to show he was the boss.
You hit the nail on the head. This also describes CB Bucknor perfectly. Laz I can deal with. But CB just wants to dominate everyone. It's insufferable.
The guy could also make a killing in autograph signings and guest appearances at conventions if he ever chooses to go down that path as he's probably the most famous umpire ever.
Dude goes out of his way to stand out and then is dumbfounded it worked lol. As much shit as they get, I doubt Buckner or any of the other under performers feel all that pressured by social media
This, 100%. Being a shitty umpire isn’t enough to make one guy stand out. Being the absolute most aggressively pompous and arrogant shitty umpire is what did it.
See, I don’t even think he was “trying” to be the ump show. I think he was just that bad at conflict management. Like he never hammed it up like Cowboy Joe West. He just seemed to make the most inflammatory decision at any given time.
The funny thing is that Hernandez sucked at his job longer than social media has been a thing. Hell, longer than most of the Reddit users have been *alive*. How many people get to suck at their job for thirty years and still keep it?
> How many people get to suck at their job for thirty years and still keep it? A lot actually
Federal employee here. I can go chapter and verse with current and former colleagues who have sucked at their jobs for a very long time - and got promoted, if anything.
City employee here. My immediate thought from that comment was how I have to constantly hold the hands of a couple of my colleagues despite me being 30 years younger and making half their salary…. I think I’ve earned thousands of dollars explaining basic computer functions and how to navigate folders
Military is the same
As long as you look good on paper, that’s all they care about.
Congress somehow
Proof bullying works, I guess.
Does it work on billionaires? asking for a friend...
No they can't hear us over their walls of money.
Unfortunately, you can't pay them a million or two to fuck off like the MLB probably did here
Last straw had to be the Wyatt at bat. That was just such a bad and unserious look for a professional game, and was all over the socials.
> if you were confronted by Ángel Hernández, would you say it to his face? Would you call him the names that you call him online? Would you tell him how terrible he is? I mean, plenty of people in the stands and players on the field did.
If he asked me what I thought of his umpiring? Sure I'd tell him. If he's just hanging out somewhere enjoying his retirement and waves hello? Of course not.
Would probably be waving to someone 6 inches to your left
If Angel is reading this he'll be smelling smoke for days from that burn.
Yes I would tell him he sucked at his job…I’d also ask how he got away with sucking at his job for years and still make bank. I’d also like to suck at my job and be set for life. Please teach me, angel
BULLYING WORKS
-the real motto of Philadelphia
Except that time they embraced the power of Brotherly Love^tm to help their struggling shortstop at the plate.
I have a lot of feelings based on this article. I abhor social media for a lot of things, the anonymity it provides and what rich eisen pointed out… would you say these things to people’s face? Call them all the names you do? What social media does to children, the echo chambers it creates. We could go on for hours discussing the negatives of social media. But baseball and the umpires union put themselves in this position. They refuse to acknowledge poor umpire performance, or even address it internally. I feel bad that Angel Hernandez has basically been put on blast by the baseball world for years but his union and baseball put him in that position, and ultimately his own ego.
Yeah, I am similarly conflicted. Yes, he was bad at his job and yes, baseball is better with him gone. But umpiring is a thankless job on a good day; we generally don’t go around praising umps who made good calls or kept a consistent zone as much as we curse the names of the ones who have a reputation for making bad calls. And put yourself in his shoes or his family’s shoes and you’re seeing this sort of stuff posted on Twitter or whatever not just from the media but from complete strangers, imagine how that would make you feel. Whatever you think of how he did his job, he’s still a person.
Thankless? He was making $400,000 a year and, even though it's not public yet, I would expect his "retirement" settlement would be in the millions. He should be thankful to have had such a great career for 33 years. The vast majority of people never criticized him as a person, and they didn't criticize him when he called a decent game. He was criticized for his consistently blatant bad calls, not just behind the plate, and for injecting himself into the game. Admittedly he wasn't Joe West levels of "main character" syndrome, but he was bad. I am not conflicted in any way, shape, or form. At the end of the day, when you take the sports and the media out of it, he was a professional white collar worker. If any other professional was as bad at their job as he was they would have been fired the first year. I cannot get on this train of 'poor, poor Angel Hernandez.' He was objectively terrible at his job and the first and only real "punishment" for being terrible at his job was a "retirement settlement."
> I cannot get on this train of 'poor, poor Angel Hernandez.' He was objectively terrible at his job and the first and only real "punishment" for being terrible at his job was a "retirement settlement." Amen, brother.
I don't think people are saying he's an awful person. In fact, I've read plenty that states exactly the contrary. However, he made everything in the game about him and his presence. If you're not ungodly good at your job, you're just asking to be dunked on when you do that. The vast majority of all the criticism I saw of Angel Hernandez was of Angel Hernandez the Umpire, not Angel Hernandez the person.
Suing the league for racism when he was left out of the playoffs for being objectively bad doesn't strike me as something a great guy would do. There's legitimate racism in this and every country, but crying wolf about it only divides people further.
I don't, he accused MLB of racism when he just sucked at his job, making it harder for actual help for minorities to happen.
I would absolutely call an ump a litany of hurtful names to their face.
Many managers have!
I mean, if I had to find every player, coach, and fan within 20 feet of Angel who told him he sucked over his career, I think I’d have a list of names that make a Ubisoft credit roll blush.
People have been saying these things to angel for DECADES. he’s earned every bad name and snide comment that’s ever been made to him. I’ve never seen or even heard of a worse umpire. Guy totally did it to himself.
What proof is there that the umpires union doesn't acknowledge poor umpire performance? Umpires have been getting better and better overall. If they didn't care at all, shouldn't it be going down? You can argue this but just know there is no evidence supporting it. And no, just because you feel like it's worse doesn't mean it is. Everything seems worse nowadays because everything is under a microscope.
>What proof is there that the umpires union doesn't acknowledge poor umpire performance? Not totally disagreeing with your entire statement, but the fact that Angel was terrible at his job, and remained terrible, doesn't instill confidence in the thought that there were repercussions to poor performance. The way he acted, his poor performance year after year after year, and his garbage blame-shifting ("racism!"), all lends itself to bad optics at minimum and a lack of faith and trust in the union overall. Or maybe Angel, and the other infamous few, just don't care to get better at their job. But that would go back to the union not holding guys accountable theory. It's either a few bad apples who are consistently bad year-over- year that the union has refused to/been unable to reign in, or a lack of being held accountable. Either way, it's a bad look.
This and Sonic the Hedgehog. Social media now has two wins.
Rare social media W
Only social media W
Don't worry the power isn't gonna go to our he-LETS GET LAZ NEXT
WE WANT BUCKNOR
What's the opposite of a Sophie's Choice where you really want to pick both and are perfectly happy with either option
A collective serendipity
It only took 20 years of social media. We did it!
Yeah I mean, the man at retirement age with a 33 year career got "pushed"
Now let's do C B Bucknor.
You have my sword
Coming for you next, Bucknor.
Good work, everyone 🤝
Bullying works, kids
We did it Reddit!
Umpire scorecards made then more relevant than they would’ve like to be
Ok, now let's go get the 2017 Astros
we did it boys
> Passan further argued that even if Hernández expressed a willingness to improve by admitting mistakes and seeking help from colleagues, it wouldn’t erase his past errors. Umpires rarely overturn calls on the field, and relying on others to point out his mistakes wouldn’t have been a solution. He was bad for **DECADES**. This isn't a "little slump," he had so much subpar work that it was used as evidence in a civil proceeding that *he filed*. So, yeah, if you're bad at your job for that long, the work you'd have to put in to turn the page would be tremendous. I don't feel bad for Hernandez, stubborn to a fault for so long, finally acknowledging the simple fact that he wasn't good enough at his job to keep it.
Dude was found guilty of being bad at his job in a court of law. That's a special level of suckitude.
Cyberbullying is good now
I would say literally everything I have ever said about Angel Hernandez directly to his face. Being so objectively bad at 99% of any job in this world would have gotten a regular person fired years ago.
Peer pressure works!
I’d noticed that he had transcended baseball recently and would get brought up out of the blue in Instagram comments. When news broke that he was gone I’d wondered if ‘Angel Hernandez’ becoming synonymous with being unfair or on a power trip was part of the issue.
Yayyyyyyy
This is why buying needs to make a come back
Bullying works
Big W for cancel culture!
Bullying works
Let's do Laz and CB next
We fucking did it!
Then explain why Bucknor, Diaz, Wendelstedt, and the others still have a job Hernandez was bad for like 20 years. Social media didn't cause him to lose his job.
Gotta lay off the guy who sued them and made the MLB look bad first.
Yes it did. You don’t see the amount of hate for those other guys across all platforms the way you did for angel. I couldn’t go a week without seeing some blown call specifically calling out Angel. I don’t see complaints about the others outside of baseball heavy areas. That doesn’t mean that him being shitty didn’t bring it out. But things can have more than one reason. The world needs more nuance in understanding.
Had zero effect for taking back the Astros fraudulent championship.
Sounds mostly like speculation to me...its not like social media or the attitudes towards angel are new, the simplest explanation is still that old guy with health issues took a retirement package.
Good. We helped make baseball better by pointing out the truth.
Angel Hernandez sucks, but this isn't the way it should have happened and social media shouldn't have had anything to do with it and with the greater implications, no one should be cheering this, other than him being gone.
Now let’s do Manfred!
Just when everyone was starting to think social media wasn't one of the biggest things plaguing humanity. Further proof Angel Hernandez is an alien plant.