frjosh on Nostr: Angel Hernandez has retired. For #MLB fans, the temptation is to perhaps rejoice this ...

Angel Hernandez has retired. For #MLB fans, the temptation is to perhaps rejoice this day, but consider: we need our villains, and they need us. By the metrics, he wasn't the worst of umpires, but he drew the most ire. A generous and godly man, it seems he's always comported himself as a gentleman.

But boy howdy, could he have bad games, and we all let him know it. It was part of the fun, and now that chapter is closed. That he never backed away from bad calls or accepted responsibility for them sealed his fate as a hated character, a permanent heel on our beloved diamond.

Fare thee well, Angel, and thanks for the memories. C. B. Bucknor will have to do, for we who remain.