Veteran umpire Ángel Hernández, who had a long career in Major League Baseball, is retiring now. During his more than thirty-year career, Hernández faced criticism from players, managers, and fans for making mistakes and ejecting people quickly, especially in important games.
Hernández announced his retirement in a statement released by MLB on Monday night, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.
“Since my first game in 1991, I’ve been lucky to live my childhood dream of umpiring in the major leagues. There’s nothing better than doing a job you love. I cherished the friendships with my colleagues and the people I’ve met along the way, including the locker room staff in different cities,” Hernández said.
“There have been many positive changes in baseball since I started. One of them is the increased diversity. I’m proud to have played a part in that while being an umpire.”
Last summer, Hernández lost his racial discrimination lawsuit against MLB for the second time when a federal appeals court refused to reopen his case. The court upheld a 2021 decision that favored MLB.
Hernández filed the lawsuit in 2017, claiming he faced discrimination because he hadn’t umpired in the World Series since 2005 and hadn’t been promoted to crew chief despite serving as an interim crew chief from 2011-2016.
“The 2nd Circuit said Hernández couldn’t prove there was a big enough difference in how often white and minority umpires got promoted. They said MLB showed good evidence that there wasn’t much of a gap in promoting crew chiefs between white and minority umpires during those years. Hernández didn’t explain why he thought MLB’s evidence wasn’t trustworthy.”
“Hernández hurt his back last season and didn’t work until July 31. This year, he umpired eight games, with his last one on May 9 between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox.”
“According to USA Today and ESPN, Hernández agreed to leave MLB after reaching a deal with them. They spent two weeks discussing money before settling on an agreement over the past weekend.”
“Hernández, who is from Cuba, started umpiring in the big leagues in 1993. He worked in two World Series (2002, 2005), three All-Star Games (1999, 2009, 2017), and eight League Championship Series, with his last LCS game in 2016.”
“In Game 3 of the 2018 AL Division Series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, Hernández had three calls at first base changed after video replay reviews.”
