“Bae should have punched the umpire in the head.”
After Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays), this time it’s Bae Ji-hwan (Pittsburgh Pirates). This time, it was umpire Angel Hernandez, who is notorious for making bad calls in the major leagues. Bae started at first base and struck out three times in four at-bats against the Washington Nationals in a home game of the 2023 Major League Baseball World Series at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, on July 15.
Angel Hernandez was the umpire for the game. Bae was the victim of an error in the first inning. He walked to lead off and had a favorable 3B1S count. Minnesota starter Josiah Gray’s 6-seam 88 mph cutter was just outside the strike zone and slightly high. It was a strike.
But Hernandez stunned Bae by calling it a strike. Bae’s frustration could be seen on the replay screen as he let out a sigh. In the bottom of the sixth inning with the bases loaded and no outs, Gray’s 81-mph sweeper was outside the strike zone on a 2B2S, but was called out for a wild pitch.
Hernandez’s call was a hot topic on social media. Justice Delos Santos, who covers Pittsburgh for MLB.com, wrote on Twitter, “The ball was out of the strike zone, but it looks like Bae doesn’t like Hernandez’s strike zone very much.”스포츠토토
Geoff Mossbay then commented, “No one in history has ever thought Hernandez wasn’t blind.” Brett even said, “Bae should have turned around and swung at Angel’s head.” There were also videos of umpire Hernandez’s past calls.
Platinum’s Brian also posted a video of a blown call and wrote, “Just Angel Hernandez stuff.” It was a nuance full of anger. It was an angry nuance. After the call, the video showed Bae walking back to the dugout with a bitter look on his face.
Hernandez’s name has also been etched in the minds of Korean Major League Baseball fans. He was the umpire for the Toronto Blue Jays-Colorado Rockies game on April 2. Hernandez made two crucial calls against Ryu Hyun-jin and Chris Flexen that drew the ire of Korean and local fans.