Angel Hernandez
I could have titled this article a lot of other things; “Angel Hernandez” seems like a very plain title. Other titles I had selected may have been very clever and comical, but they would also have been very rude, so I decided against them this time (I’m feeling nice right now).
You may ask, at this point, what can you do but laugh when watching a Tigers game? Why even write about the Tigers anymore? But I, like Jim Leyland, can’t prevent myself from finding something to complain about night after amusing night, and I feel obligated to make my point known.
I could talk about many things on the night of another horrifyingly disappointing loss for the Detroit Tigers, and I am by no means excusing Fernando Rodney for his terrible pitching in the 9th inning of tonight’s game or blaming the home plate umpire for the outcome of the game, but really, Mr. Hernandez, could you be any more arrogant?
Seriously. Do you really have to be so right that you can’t even ask the first base umpire for help when 3 different people think you might be wrong? Not to mention the rulebook says you don’t have a choice.
Rule 9.02(c) in the MLB Official Rulebook states; “Appeals on a half swing may be made only on the call of ball and when asked to appeal, the home plate umpire must refer to a base umpire for his judgment on the half swing.” Also, “Field umpires must be alerted to the request from the plate umpire and quickly respond.”
But you probably already knew that.
Tags: angel hernandez, detroit tigers, jim leyland, mlb, official rulebook, texas rangers, umpire