Bad reviews for ump
Replays overrule Hernandez 3 times in shaky Game 3
NEW YORK — Angel Hernandez hit .250 in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. That’s a mediocre batting average for a player and awful replay average for an umpire.
Hernandez was overruled on three of four video reviews of his decisions at first base during the Red Sox’s 16-1 rout of the Yankees on Monday night.
“There were several very close calls at first base tonight, and we are glad that instant replay allowed the umpiring crew to achieve the proper result on all of them,” Major League Baseball said in a statement.
The Red Sox, Yankees and fans around the country got to see plenty more of Hernandez on Tuesday night, when he was scheduled to work the plate in Game 4.
The 57-year-old Hernandez was born in Havana, joined the major league staff in 1993 and worked the World Series in 2002 and 2005. He sued MLB in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati in July 2017, alleging race discrimination and citing his lack of World Series assignments in the past decade and baseball not promoting him to crew chief.
MLB moved to dismiss the case, but U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett transferred it to federal court in Manhattan on Sept. 30 without ruling on the motion to dismiss.
“Angel was horrible,” Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez said on TBS’ postgame show. “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.”
Hernandez’s troubles started in the second inning, when Didi Gregorius bunted with Giancarlo Stanton on first and the umpire ruled Gregorius beat the throw from pitcher Nathan Eovaldi. The call was overturned.
When Gleyber Torres hit a three-hopper off the mound in the third with the Yankees trailing 3-0, shortstop Xander Bogaerts gloved the ball, continued to the second-base side of the dirt and threw to first, when Hernandez signaled safe. That, too, was overturned by the replay-room umpires.
The Yankees trailed 10-0 in the fourth when Luke Voit hit a comebacker off the bare hand of Eovaldi, and Hernandez signaled Voit beat the throw from second baseman Brock Holt for an infield hit. That was upheld by the replay room.
Stanton then singled to put runners at the corners, and Gregorius grounded to Holt. The second baseman made a backhand flip to Bogaerts covering second for a forceout, and Bogaerts threw to first, where Hernandez signaled out for a double play . That led to Hernandez’s third reversal.
Hernandez has had firstbase calls overturned in 14 of 18 video reviews during the last three regular seasons, according to Sports Info Solutions, and his 78 percent overturn rate was above the 60 percent overall figure for first base calls during that span, the company said.