Why did Angel Hernandez sue the MLB? Maligned umpire loses racial discrimination case against the league

In his over two decades calling MLB games, umpire Angel Hernandez has built himself quite the reputation. Now, the Cuban-born's credibility has taken another massive hit.

Born in Cuba in 1961, Angel Hernandez grew up in the Miami area, and began refereeing Little League games as a teenages. After getting a promotion to MiLB in the 1990s, Hernandez joined the MLB as a full-time umpire in 2000.

His time in the league has been filled with some highly questionnable calls that have made him plenty of enemies. Some have even referred to Hernandez as "the worst umpire ever"

"Umpire Angel Hernandez missed 23 calls in the #Yankees #Astros game. He now has the lowest correct call rate in the league." - Umpire Auditor

In 2017, Hernandez filed a lawsuit against MLB. His case was that he had been passed over as an option for several high-profile umpire opportunities, such as the World Series. According to Hernandez, his racial identity had served as a contributing factor for the supposed injustice.

On Aug. 15, Hernandez lost an appeal after the case was thrown out by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in 2021. According to the attorney in charge, Hernandez failed to supply adequate evidence that race had played a role in the league passing him over.

"Umpire Angel Hernandez loses again in lawsuit vs MLB when appeals court refuses to reinstate case" - CTV News

In addition to allegations of racial discrimination, Angel Hernandez claimed that Joe Torre, MLB's Chief Baseball Officer, has a personal vendetta against him. In the mind of Hernandez, Torre is still angry with Hernandez for calls he made against the New York Yankees while Torre served as manager.

Angel Hernandez' reputation takes yet another hit

In 2017, then-Detroit Tigers player Ian Kinsler was forced to pay a fine after claiming that Hernandez "needed to find another job." Over the course of his career, Hernandez has made some pretty serious enemies. From fans to managers to players, there have been few involved in baseball who have not had it out for him at one point.

However, his attempt to pin his own poor performance on "racism" represents a new low. With the decision, hopefully Hernandez can focus on regaining the trust of fans and players. However, based on past trends, we cannot exactly place heavy expectations on the shoulders of Hernandez.