There isn’t an umpire more widely despised by MLB players than Ángel Hernández, who has been infuriating people with his terrible calls for years now. This frustration has often boiled over into profane arguments followed by ejections, which is just how these things tend to go. But during last night’s game between the Red Sox and Rangers, Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi found out that even if you do manage to restrain yourself from running right up into Hernández’s face and telling him how much he sucks, you’re still at risk to be run from the game.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Benintendi grounded out to first, and before he could make his way back into the dugout, first base umpire Vic Carapazza ejected him from the game. Red Sox manager Alex Cora came out of the dugout to argue with Carapazza and Hernández, and it didn’t take long for him to get ejected, too.
Nobody seemed to know exactly why Benintendi had been ejected in the first place, and it’s not until the end of this clip that you can see him shout something at Hernández after he was called out at first, likely over a missed strike call earlier in the at-bat:
After the game, Benintendi claimed that all he said in Hernández’s direction was “you suck,” and the video footage appears to confirm that. It also makes perfect sense to yell something like that at Hernández, who does indeed suck. That, apparently, is enough to get thrown out of a baseball game in 2019.
After getting ejected, Benintendi made sure to inform Carapazza that his decision to needlessly defend Hernández’s honor also qualified him as a guy who sucks:
Hernández wasn’t finished just yet, though. During the next half inning, Rangers infielder Asdrubal Cabrera was called out on a close play at second base. Rangers manager Chris Woodward wanted to challenge the call, but was told by Hernández that he had missed the 30-second window. That brought Woodward out of the dugout to scream at Hernández, and led to yet another ejection.
After the game, Woodward claimed that Hernández failed to let him know that the 30-second window was about to expire, which is a courtesy most umpires extend to managers in that situation. From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
“I had the hand up,” Woodward said. “I didn’t know where we were as far as the 30 seconds go. I just know that most umpires come over and give me the ultimatum, yes or no. That didn’t happen. When that didn’t I happen I felt like, ‘Every other umpire does that. Why wouldn’t you do that?’”
At this point, I think we can say that having to play in or manage a game over which Ángel Hernández is presiding qualifies as a professional hazard.