Earlier this week, Bryce Harper threw a fit when he was ejected for arguing balls and strikes from the dugout. Harper’s beef made another case for baseball’s need for an automated strike zone. After all, when the technology is there to ensure that Angel Hernandez never makes a ball or strike call again, there’s no reason to pass that up.
Just look at what happened during Tuesday’s game between the Astros and Twins. Hernandez, who is widely regarded as the worst umpire in baseball, was at it again.
The Astros’ George Springer was called out on strikes following a pitch that was clearly below the strike zone. Like, it wasn’t all that close.
Springer, who was understandably expecting a Ball 4 call, threw his bat when Hernandez called him out. The strike call wasn’t just bad in the sense that it missed the strike zone, Hernandez called a similar pitch a ball earlier in the at-bat.
When Springer returned to the dugout, cameras caught him saying something clearly vulgar about Hernandez.
Yeah, Springer was upset.
Earlier this month, Hernandez’s race discrimination lawsuit against MLB was made public. In spring training, Astros manager A.J. Hinch called Hernandez “unprofessional” and “arrogant” following an ejection. There’s history between Hernandez and the Astros — though you’d be hard-pressed to find a team that didn’t have a sour history with the longtime umpire.
But let’s fix this. From an on-field standpoint, Angel Hernandez-related controversy could all be avoided with robot umps. It’s the right thing to do, MLB.
