This isn’t going to help with the way MLB fans call out umpire Angel Hernandez every time he’s behind the plate for a game.
The thing in this situation was: Hernandez wasn’t behind the plate on Tuesday night for what turned into another weird call.
Let’s break it down: Hernandez was at first base when Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit a ball to right field that was near the wall. Cleveland outfielder Harold Ramirez couldn’t make the catch, and Josh Naylor grabbed the ball on a hop and threw into second base.
But the Royals’ Andrew Benintendi — on second base was confused when Hernandez signaled it was an out. Caught between second and third as he tried to go back and tag up, he was tagged out.
But then Hernandez and the umpiring crew talked it over, changed the call … and gave Benintendi third base.
Andrew Benintendi was tagged out but Angel Hernandez overturned the call without a review and no one knows why pic.twitter.com/ZfZYKkY8eR
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 5, 2021
Here’s what Hernandez said to a pool reporter, via Cleveland.com:
“I was trying to read the players to see what they did with the ball, and I had to come out with the call,” Hernandez said. “I basically guessed on the wrong call.”
Oh boy. It’s not a good look when an umpire says he “basically guessed.” Here’s more from Hernandez, via KansasCity.com:
“Our goal was to get the play right, and that’s exactly what we did,” Hernandez told a pool reporter after the game. “We talk about this. Replay is an extension of what we do out there. As you saw, I got basically blinded by the outfield scoreboard. The pixels on the lights were as clear as white can be. I was trying to make out what happened out there.
“The harder I looked, the less I could see. So I was trying to read the players to see what they did with the ball. And I had to come out with the call. I basically guessed on the wrong call. So as soon as I turned around, (home plate umpire) Edwin (Moscoso) started walking towards me. We got the crew together. And we fixed the problem.”
It’s good they at least turned over the call, but what a mess!