Just when everyone thinks Ángel Hernández couldn’t possibly get any worse at blowing calls … he somehow gets worse.
The much-maligned umpire, who is a threat to go viral on social media every game he works because of his frequently horrific calls, did it again Friday night in the Texas Rangers-Houston Astros game.
In the top of the fourth, Astros starter J.P. France threw a pitch to rookie Wyatt Langford that appeared well outside the strike zone. Hernández called it a strike.
On the Bally Sports Southwest broadcast, Rangers play-by-play man Dave Raymond calmly remarked, “Whoa … Ángel, come on now.”
The next pitch was even further outside. Another called strike by Hernández.
“Oh my goodness! What in the world! Are we trying?” Raymond said.
That should have been ball four,” remarked color analyst Dave Valle.
The next pitch was so far outside, it’s possible only one umpire in the world might have called it a strike. Unfortunately, that ump was working behind the plate in this game, and he called it a strike.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Raymond exclaimed. “What in the world? We have just completely lost it here!”
“This is just bad,” Valle said. “Three consecutive pitches well off the plate … That’s just so obvious. That was terrible.”
Peak Angel Hernandez during the Astros-Rangers game! The Rangers announcers are in disbelief over a series of missed strike calls.
"Well boys, better be swinging tonight, Angel's got a dinner reservation." pic.twitter.com/GttcOBN0i2
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 13, 2024
Here’s a look at those three pitches as they showed up on MLB.com’s pitch chart.
Those are the kinds of calls that routinely send Hernández viral on X/Twitter. The Comeback MLB X account noted, “Angel Hernandez trending on a night he’s a home plate umpire is about as reliable as the sun setting in the west.”
Angel Hernandez trending on a night he's a home plate umpire is about as reliable as the sun setting in the west. https://t.co/CAvUrFmDDK pic.twitter.com/EdbVcMwkan
— The Comeback MLB (@thecomebackmlb) April 13, 2024
By the way, the Astros announcers on the Space City Home Network were just as perplexed by those missed calls, even as their team benefitted from them.
“Ángel Hernández is helping out a little bit,” play-by-play man Todd Kalas said after one pitch. After the third pitch: “Wow. Those last 3 were all off the plate.”
“If I was hitting, I wouldn’t be happy with that,” noted color analyst and Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell.
For anyone curious what the Houston announcers thought, here's their call of the same sequence.
"Angel Hernandez is helping out a little bit."
"Wow. Those last 3 were all off the plate."
A little softer. But, they know. https://t.co/VydDRXuBqT pic.twitter.com/urPxRb3mSO
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 13, 2024
Raymond and Valle are just the latest announcers who’ve had to grapple with how to call the action when Hernández makes a terrible blunder … or three. Kudos to Raymond for the “Ángel’s got a dinner reservation” line.
[Photo Credits: MLB.com (pitch chart), Bally Sports Southwest]
