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MLB cites two Red Sox games in response to Angel Hernandez legal filing
Hernandez sued MLB, claiming he was a victim of discrimination.
If former MLB umpire Angel Hernandez loses his suit against Major League Baseball, two Red Sox games could be evidence used against him.
Hernandez filed suit against MLB in 2017 alleging discrimination, since he had been passed over for a World Series assignment since 2005 and for crew chief responsibilities. A native of Cuba, Hernandez was an interim crew chief from 2011-2016, but he never was given permanent crew chief status. In March 2021, a judge granted a summary judgment to MLB, but Hernandez asked to have the decision thrown out in June.
In response, MLB wrote in a 58-page brief on Wednesday that it was planning to send Hernandez to the World Series in 2018. However, in the ALDS between the Yankees and Red Sox, Hernandez blew three calls in one game as a first-base umpire. He ruled Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius safe on a bunt, Yankees infielder Gleyber Torres out on an infield grounder, and then Gregorius out for a double play. All three calls were overturned upon replay.
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“This was the first time since the advent of expanded instant replay in 2014 that an umpire had three calls overturned in a postseason game,” MLB wrote in its brief. “Based on his performance during that Division Series playoff game, [then-chief baseball officer Joe] Torre was not confident in Hernandez’s ability to perform effectively on an even more intense stage, and for this reason did not select him for the World Series that season.
“Hernandez has not presented, and the record does not contain, a scintilla of evidence that MLB’s actions were based on his race or national origin.”
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Among a number of other examples of Hernandez’s mistakes, MLB also noted a second instance involving the Red Sox from 2019 when Hernandez misapplied a substitution rule in a game between the Red Sox and Rays. Hernandez’s mistake took 14 minutes to sort through and caused Red Sox manager Alex Cora to file a protest with the league after the game.
Per MLB, when the league investigated that incident, Hernandez “intentionally and deceptively eavesdropped on a confidential conversation with another umpire on his crew.”
“When MLB asked Hernandez about it, he lied about his conduct,” MLB wrote.
Hernandez’s lawyers say MLB manipulated Hernandez’s year-end evaluations from 2011-2016 “in order to make his job performance appear worse than it actually was.”
“Mr. Hernandez’s year-end evaluations for the 2011-2016 seasons do not even come close to accurately summarizing Mr. Hernandez’s actual performance in those seasons,” the lawyers wrote, per ESPN.
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