They say that if you are a casual baseball fan, and you know an umpire’s name, that’s probably a bad sign.
Well, every baseball fan knows the name Angel Hernandez, so when the Cardinals broadcasters say that he is “in midseason form” after a pitch called for a ball, you know it probably wasn’t a good sign:
"Angel Hernandez is in the midseason form" pic.twitter.com/EdJhr3xJIO
— Tony X (@soIoucity) February 28, 2021
Hernandez is kind of infamous in baseball circles as being particularly not great at his appointed job, so it’s a bit of a running gag to see when he goofs. To be fair, that pitch was probably not dead center – the camera angle makes it tough to see, but it was probably in the middle down range of the strike zone – but it was pretty clearly a strike. So the joke plays. I’ll allow it.
Angel Hernandez is also not a stranger to high profile gaffes as early as Spring Training. His calls have led to multiple ejections from Spring Training games.
With the first clear miss of the year for Angel Hernandez, we all know that truly … baseball season is almost here.