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Today’s Headlines
Angel Hernandez Hangs’em Up
They say you don’t want to know the names of the officials in professional sporting events, that they should be silent figures of authority that do not interject themselves into the game and, thus, nameless. That was never the case with Angel Hernandez, arguably the least nameless and most polarizing official the MLB has had in the last twenty years.
That torch has officially been passed, as reports of Hernandez retiring started to hit the airwaves late last night.
Ángel Hernández to retire: Much-maligned MLB umpire calling it quits https://t.co/2m9QJNlkcl
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) May 28, 2024
Most who have been present online know the reception to the announcement was going to be one of joy, jokes, relief… and maybe even a few candid appreciations. Not many though. Hernandez was polarizing for a reason, in his most recent 247 games tracked by Umpire Scorecards, Hernandez ranked in the bottom 30th percentile in Accuracy, Expected Accuracy, and Accuracy Above Expected. Plus, an abysmal 13th percentile ranking in consistency. He was, essentially, the face of the ‘when robo ump’ movement on Twitter.
While maybe fair, Hernandez’s career underscores an interesting disconnect between the MLB and their fans. His head was called for loudly and often, but his accuracy percentiles still correlated with getting 91.9% of pitches called correctly in those 247 games. You can take a deeper dive into how the MLB evaluates the correctness as well (ESPN+ required), usually giving the umpires a few inches of buffer on either side of the strike zone.
It’s a thankless job, as if he had gotten everything correct we wouldn’t really know who he is, but whatever you thought of the long-tenured umpire, I think we can all appreciate his reasons to hang up the mask: to spend more time with his family.
There likely, and hopefully, won’t be another umpire as infamous as Hernandez for a while. Personally, while I’ve been annoyed by many calls, I respect Hernandez for doing such a difficult and thankless job for so long. I hope he enjoys his retirement.
Ohtani Throwing From Sixty Feet, Hitting 80MPH
That’s what I call some great news. There’s just one player in the MLB who can both pitch and hit, or… who’s encouraged to do so and can operate at a high level on both sides of the ball. His name is Shohei Ohtani, ever heard of him?
There, of course, have been questions about if Ohtani should even be pitching at all, given how insanely strong his hitting has been this season. Some are attributing that improvement to not taking the mound every five games, but clearly the Dodgers and Ohtani are going to see what a potential return to pitching might look like next season.
Shohei Ohtani did speak with reporters before today's game was banged
He said his hamstring bruise is "getting better day by day" and isn't impacting his swing
He also updated his throwing program, noting he got out to 60 feet in catch play last week and clocked 80 mph
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) May 27, 2024
Orioles Unleash Eleven Run Outburst, Defeat Red Sox
The only Oriole not to get a hit in the contest was Gunnar Henderson, as the Baltimore side scored all eleven runs unanswered. They did so with seven extra base hits, but none of which left the park. Cole Irvin got the win, going five innings and striking out six.
at this rate the Orioles may run out of hats pic.twitter.com/KSlkxGERlA
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) May 27, 2024
The win extends the Baltimore win streak to five, which is the currently the longest streak in the MLB.
Late Inning Drama In The AL Central
The Twins defeated the Royals yesterday, handing the Kansas City club their first losing streak since May 4-5 and just their second since April 30, but not without the Royals making it interesting.
Entering the ninth inning, the game was all but decided, with the Royals winning 6-1. With two outs in the ninth, a Hunter Renfroe double scored the second Royals run, leaving men on second and third. That was enough to summon Jhoan Duran. Duran hit MJ Melendez and allowed back to back slow-rollers which, along with an error, cut the lead to just one.
With Bobby Witt Jr. at the plate, and first base open, the Twins pitched to the young star, maybe recklessly so, but they got the out and the victory on the first pitch of the at bat. That had to be nerve-racking for Twins fans!
The Twins decided to pitch to Bobby Witt Jr. with the go-ahead run on second in the 9th with a base open and he grounded out on the first pitch pic.twitter.com/DEb2mea2oL
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 27, 2024
Best Moments From Yesterday
Adames Powers Brewers Five-Run Inning
A pitching duel between the Cubs and the Brewers was broken up in dramatic fashion on Monday afternoon, as Adames and co. put up a five-spot in the bottom of the eighth inning. There had yet to be a run scored before this frame!
Robert Gasser and Justin Steele combined for thirteen innings of shutout ball. Each surrendered just three hits, Steele striking out eight and Gasser with seven. There was just one walk between them as well from Steele.
Nonetheless the Brew Crew pounced on the Cubs once Steele exited the game, and the big inning was more than enough to deliver a victory for the Milwaukee side.
Willy Adames had the 3-0 green light.
He didn't miss. pic.twitter.com/SknnYheCjT
— MLB (@MLB) May 27, 2024
Goldy Hits Third Dinger In Two Days
Things are looking good for the St. Louis slugger, who went deep in the first inning after a two home run performance on Sunday. Unfortunately, it was the only run the Cardinals were able to muster. They fell to the Reds by a score of 3-1.
Three home runs in 24 hours for Paul Goldschmidt! #ForTheLou pic.twitter.com/YPI8AlmiOW
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) May 27, 2024
Fan Catch Of The Day
Who doesn’t love a good one-handed-grab with a baby in the other arm?!
Did this dad just make the play of the game?? 👶 pic.twitter.com/4qLDhyKmla
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 27, 2024
Injuries and Other Moves
⚾ LaMonte Wade Jr. (hamstring) – injured on slide, likely headed to IL.
⚾ Jorge Polanco (hamstring) – sent to 10-day IL
⚾ Steven Kwan (hamstring) – set to start in third AAA rehab game Tuesday
⚾ José Abreu rejoins Astros, Joey Loperfido optioned
⚾ Lars Nootbaar (hamstring) – expected to rejoin Cardinals on Friday
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
According to the Official Baseball Rules regarding umpires, ” the first essential in working out of a bad situation is to keep your own temper and self-control. You no doubt are going to make mistakes, but never attempt to “even up” after having made one.”
Angel Hernandez was an antagonistic hot-head that was trigger-happy in ejecting players after he provoked them. This happened all too frequently after making blatantly bad calls. I remember one incident several years ago when he called strike three on Ramon Laureano that was obviously a ball. Laureano never said a word, but gave him an incredulous look, then walked away shaking his head. If Hernandez would have just ignored him, that would have been the end of it. Instead, Hernandez started screaming at Laureano while he quickly and aggressively intercepted Laureano on his way to the dugout. Then, promptly ejected him – disgraceful!
It wasn’t just that Hernandez made a lot of bad calls. He then incited confrontations and ejected players when he was the one escalating the situation.