At Least He’s Honest: MLB Ump Admits He ‘Basically Guessed’ on Hideous Call After He Lost the Ball in the Lights

Major League Baseball’s least popular umpire, Angel Hernandez, had an awful blown call during Tuesday night’s Indians-Royals game in Kansas City. But what made the call even worse, was his seemingly clueless explanation.

“I was trying to read the players to see what they did with the ball, and I had to come out with the call,” Hernandez said while speaking to a pool reporter after the game. “I basically guessed on the wrong call.”

Royals catcher Salvador Perez drove a ball deep to right-center that split the outfielders and landed on the warning track. Hernandez, the first base umpire signaled that the ball was caught for an out. Royals second base runner Andrew Benintendi was understandably confused, unsure if the ball was caught or dropped. Stagnant in between second and third base, he was tagged out.

After the umpires met, Benintendi was awarded third base because of the confusion caused by Hernandez, despite the fact that he was legitimately tagged out by the Royals.

Credit Hernandez for being unapologetically honest with what happened. But my goodness. If you’re a Major League Baseball umpire, it’s usually not a good thing for fans to remember your name. And nearly every baseball fan knows who Angel Hernandez is because he frequently trends on social media for blown calls.

The 59-year-old has been an MLB ump since 1991 and his ability to call balls and strikes behind the plate has essentially become a running joke among fans. Earlier this year, Hernandez had a racial discrimination suit against MLB dismissed. Hernandez sued the league in 2017, in part because he wasn’t getting World Series assignments.

But fans will point to his performance as the reason why Hernandez doesn’t get to serve as an umpire during the sport’s biggest games. And egregiously “guessing” during Tuesday night’s Indians-Royals game won’t do much to build credibility.

Watch above via, Bally Sports Great Lakes.