“I wonder how much he got paid”; “Nah Boonie we have eyes” - MLB fans react to Aaron Boone’s support of retiring umpire Angel Hernandez 

Baseball umpire Angel Hernandez announced his retirement on Monday, ending his 30-year career in MLB. Hernandez has always found his way to the headlines mostly due to his calls on the field.

He was always a subject of controversy, especially due to his calls on strikes and balls, as well as wrongful ejections.

Many players and coaches reacted to the news, including New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who supported Angel Hernandez:

“I guess a little caught off guard by the timing of it. Honestly I think sometimes he’s unfairly the poster child or the face of bad umpiring or whatever it may be. To me, there’s worse umpires out there,” Boone said.

“I feel like there’s some things that are a little unfairly attributed to him. Look he’s earned a lot of it and whatever but, at the end of the day, he’s a really good dude. He’s always handled everything with a lot of grace and certainly wish him the best.”

Baseball fans reacted to Boone’s comments and took to X/Twitter to share their views:

“Nah Boonie we have eyes,” a fan said.

“I wonder how much he got paid,” another fan wrote.

“Of course he would say that. He’s the angel Hernandez of managers,” another fan wrote.

Many fans disagreed with Boone’s take on Hernandez, saying he deserved the criticism:

“The criticism hasn’t been hard enough — Hernandez was bad for baseball,” a comment reads.

“No Aaron it has not, it’s been quite warranted,” another comment reads.

“We disagree with Boone,” a user wrote.

Last season, Angel Hernandez only umpired 10 games due to a back injury, but he reportedly made 161 incorrect calls, as reported by Umpire Auditor.

Angel Hernandez reflects on career addressing the reason for his retirement

Angel Hernandez got his first chance to umpire in the major leagues in 1991 becoming a full-time umpire two years later. Talking about his retirement, Hernández said (via CBS Sports):

"I have decided that I want to spend more time with my family. Needless to say, there have been many positive changes in the game of baseball since I first entered the profession.

“This includes the expansion and promotion of minorities. I am proud that I was able to be an active participant in that goal while being a major-league umpire."

Angel Hernandez umpired his last game on May 9, when the Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians, 3-2.