Angel Hernandez Factor?

[Carbo-Diem]

Is there any history/bad blood between Angel Hernandez and either the Red Sox or Yankees? The guy is so incompetent I can't imagine MLB allowing him to even be in a playoff series let alone get behind the plate. He will probably effect the game in a negative way for at least one or both teams with a shifting or inconsistent strike zone which will lead to many arguments over balls and strikes. I'm guessing at least one manager and one starting pitcher gets ejected.

[SoxnCycles]

I'm betting that the entire league hates him.

[moonslav59]

They should hook up a taser gun to the umps, so ever time they get a call wrong, they get tased... each time with more and more voltage.

 

Screw robo umps, this would bring fans back to the game!

[SoxnCycles]

They should hook up a taser gun to the umps, so ever time they get a call wrong, they get tased... each time with more and more voltage.

 

Screw robo umps, this would bring fans back to the game!

 

Hernandez would get jolted until he pissed himself.

[Bellhorn04]

They should hook up a taser gun to the umps, so ever time they get a call wrong, they get tased... each time with more and more voltage.

 

Screw robo umps, this would bring fans back to the game!

 

This is what Jonathan Swift might call 'A Modest Proposal' LOL

[moonslav59]

Hernandez would get jolted until he pissed himself.

 

Which would probably lead to the highest viewership to a MLB game in history.

[mvp 78]

I'm betting that the entire league hates him.

 

@Jake_Seiner

 

Pedro Martinez went off on umpire Angel Hernandez to open the TBS postgame:

 

“Angel was horrible. Don’t get me going on Angel now. Major League Baseball needs to do something about Angel. It doesn’t matter how many times he sues Major League Baseball. He’s as bad as there is. "

 

@paulloduca16

 

How Angel Hernandez is still umpiring let alone the playoffs is unreal to me. He is far the worst umpire in the league. Every year.

 

@RealCJ10

 

More Chipper Jones Retweeted Paul Lo Duca

Can I retweet this 100 times so it gets the point across!!!

 

@GaryHPhillips

 

A reminder: CC Sabathia, rather forcefully, told Angel Hernandez to “Call f***ing strikes!" during his April 29 start in Anaheim.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Angel is the Leslie Nielsen of umpires. Patting batters down at home plate and doing the moon dance wouldn't surprise me. Edited October 9, 2018 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER

[jung]

I posted this at another thread before anybody started a Hernandez thread. It is clearly more appropriately placed here.

 

There is a chart from Hardball Times titled Strikes vs Average (per game) 2017 season.

 

it is a box-plot of specific game ball and strike calls. It is really a struggle to pull data even from this box-plot and honestly, it shouldn't be this way. But this box-plot is specifically about consistency. It shows that for the 2017 season Laz Diaz and Gary Davis called the most consistent strike zones at least using the games recorded. it also shows Hernandez calling slightly more strikes than balls when compared to other major league umps. It also shows Hernandez as having the widest range ...meaning he is or was in 2017 about the least consistent ump in MLB.

 

Now here is the kicker and to me one of the maddening aspects of this topic. MLB and the Umps union would likely argue that:

- Zone Evaluation is improving all of them (probably true to some extent).

- that while a guy like Hernandez shows a pretty high degree of inconsistency in his ball and strike calls he is not wildly calling more strikes than balls.

- Hernandez is leaning more toward strikes than balls but is nowhere near the ends of the range either way

 

And therefore (TA-DAAA......Hurray) Hernandez is not really effecting game outcomes. That is what MLB would argue. I however would argue that there is absolutely NOTHING more frustrating to both hitters and pitchers than an ump that is just all over the map. Inconsistency DOES affect outcomes because nobody playing knows what the f*** is going on!

 

In case you are wondering nobody but nobody charted is as consistently INCONSISTENT as Hernandez. Paul Emmel is close but Hernandez is perfection personified as it relates to his inconsistency and his ability to screw up balls as easily as strikes while calling slightly more strikes than balls. Hernandez is so consistently inconsistent that if you told me somebody could produce numbers like his I would have called you a liar. Its uncanny.

 

Every other GD stat and chart I found literally measures the wrong things!!!! The one I am referencing here is the only one that speaks to issues that truly drive game action and player performance at least that I have found. Fangraphs has it loaded at their site as well but it is a piece and chart provided by "The Hardball Times".

[Slasher9]

i'll side with Pedro on anything umpire related.

[fxkatt]

Well. whatever, Sabathia does well when Hernandez is behind the plate. 31 innings pitched, 5 runs given up.

[jung]

Well. whatever, Sabathia does well when Hernandez is behind the plate. 31 innings pitched, 5 runs given up.

 

Perhaps CC simply does not care what Hernandez is doing or not doing...calling or not calling. Entirely possible that you have to be able to lay down a bunt to get CC riled these days or to even phase him or get him to change a single thing he is doing on the mound. I don't see Hernandez picking up a bat anytime soon.

 

In that case, that Hernandez slightly calls more strikes than balls compared to other umps might favor CC without CC enduring the wreckage other pitchers suffer trying to comprehend what the heck Hernandez is doing back there.

[moonslav59]

I posted this at another thread before anybody started a Hernandez thread. It is clearly more appropriately placed here.

 

There is a chart from Hardball Times titled Strikes vs Average (per game) 2017 season.

 

it is a box-plot of specific game ball and strike calls. It is really a struggle to pull data even from this box-plot and honestly, it shouldn't be this way. But this box-plot is specifically about consistency. It shows that for the 2017 season Laz Diaz and Gary Davis called the most consistent strike zones at least using the games recorded. it also shows Hernandez calling slightly more strikes than balls when compared to other major league umps. It also shows Hernandez as having the widest range ...meaning he is or was in 2017 about the least consistent ump in MLB.

 

Now here is the kicker and to me one of the maddening aspects of this topic. MLB and the Umps union would likely argue that:

- Zone Evaluation is improving all of them (probably true to some extent).

- that while a guy like Hernandez shows a pretty high degree of inconsistency in his ball and strike calls he is not wildly calling more strikes than balls.

- Hernandez is leaning more toward strikes than balls but is nowhere near the ends of the range either way

 

And therefore (TA-DAAA......Hurray) Hernandez is not really effecting game outcomes. That is what MLB would argue. I however would argue that there is absolutely NOTHING more frustrating to both hitters and pitchers than an ump that is just all over the map. Inconsistency DOES affect outcomes because nobody playing knows what the f*** is going on!

 

In case you are wondering nobody but nobody charted is as consistently INCONSISTENT as Hernandez. Paul Emmel is close but Hernandez is perfection personified as it relates to his inconsistency and his ability to screw up balls as easily as strikes while calling slightly more strikes than balls. Hernandez is so consistently inconsistent that if you told me somebody could produce numbers like his I would have called you a liar. Its uncanny.

 

Every other GD stat and chart I found literally measures the wrong things!!!! The one I am referencing here is the only one that speaks to issues that truly drive game action and player performance at least that I have found. Fangraphs has it loaded at their site as well but it is a piece and chart provided by "The Hardball Times".

 

At least if an ump consistently calls a low outside strike a ball, a pitcher and batter can adjust. Being inconsistent makes it very difficult.

[Spudboy]

They should hook up a taser gun to the umps, so ever time they get a call wrong, they get tased... each time with more and more voltage.

 

Screw robo umps, this would bring fans back to the game!

 

I love this idea.

 

But it would be much easier to fit the umps with dog collars as in the movie Running Man. They get a call wrong they get zapped. Not get their heads blown off.

[Kimmi]

This is what I was talking about earlier when I said that the umpires have no accountability. It doesn't matter if MLB or the Umpire's Union is tracking missed calls. Nothing is done about it. The bad umpires are still umpiring, even in the postseason. Angel has seniority. He will umpire in the postseason for as long as he wants to.

[notin]

This is what Jonathan Swift might call 'A Modest Proposal' LOL

 

How about something immodest? Like every time an umpire has his call overturned, a live piranha gets stuffed down his pants?

[moonslav59]

I think the home plate umps were worse in previous games this season.

[jung]

I did not think Angel was inordinately bad behind the dish tonight. Some of his calls made no sense and were really really bad...like strike calls on balls way high or low. But there were not that many of them...not for Angel anyway.

[Jasonbay44]

As much as I hate Angel Hernandez, he was fine tonight.

[cp176]

This is what I was talking about earlier when I said that the umpires have no accountability. It doesn't matter if MLB or the Umpire's Union is tracking missed calls. Nothing is done about it. The bad umpires are still umpiring, even in the postseason. Angel has seniority. He will umpire in the postseason for as long as he wants to.

 

Sadly this is the way it is in many very very important jobs across this country - jobs a lot more important than umpiring. Seniority just seems to be rewarded far more often than just being good.

[cp176]

I did not think Angel was inordinately bad behind the dish tonight. Some of his calls made no sense and were really really bad...like strike calls on balls way high or low. But there were not that many of them...not for Angel anyway.

 

agree here

[Kimmi]

I did not think Angel was inordinately bad behind the dish tonight. Some of his calls made no sense and were really really bad...like strike calls on balls way high or low. But there were not that many of them...not for Angel anyway.

 

Agreed. I've seen many worse games called behind the plate.

[oldtimer]

The era of robo umps is coming. The calls will be consistent and agree with strike zone rules. No more bitching needed. Should start trying it out in the minors.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

The era of robo umps is coming. The calls will be consistent and agree with strike zone rules. No more bitching needed. Should start trying it out in the minors.

 

The umpires' union will never approve that.

[notin]

The era of robo umps is coming. The calls will be consistent and agree with strike zone rules. No more bitching needed. Should start trying it out in the minors.

 

I’d rather we entered the era of that “piranha in the pants” thing...

[oldtimer]

I’d rather we entered the era of that “piranha in the pants” thing...

 

Then don't complaiin about balls and strikes.

[S5Dewey]

I think the home plate umps were worse in previous games this season.

 

I thought TBS' Pitch Zone did Hernandez a favor because it wasn't as clear as the one on NESN where the pitches were. I know we have a knee-jerk reaction to give umps the benefit of doubt but I saw quite a few pitches that I thought were out of the strike zone and called strikes. The pitch Beni was called out on and Beni's reaction is a prime example.

[moonslav59]

I thought TBS' Pitch Zone did Hernandez a favor because it wasn't as clear as the one on NESN where the pitches were. I know we have a knee-jerk reaction to give umps the benefit of doubt but I saw quite a few pitches that I thought were out of the strike zone and called strikes. The pitch Beni was called out on and Beni's reaction is a prime example.

 

Yes, the zone was harder to see, but I still think it was worse in previous games.

[cp176]

The era of robo umps is coming. The calls will be consistent and agree with strike zone rules. No more bitching needed. Should start trying it out in the minors.

 

I sure hope this doesn't happen.

[cp176]

I sure hope this doesn't happen.

 

Turning the game into a technological monster and trending toward eliminating the human factor will do nothing to help grow the game. People just seem to keep things interesting.