Angel Hernandez gets shocking defense from the last manager you'd ever expect

Sometimes it's okay to agree. On the subject of Angel Hernandez, it's relatively well-known he's among the worst umpires in baseball. Hernandez is responsible for the worst umpire scorecard in the last five years. He's somehow called over 1,000 games in three decades behind the plate, but hasn't umpired a postseason game since before the pandemic. Heck, Hernandez's retirement was even celebrated by Yankees legend CC Sabathia on social media.

In his quest to playing 'both sidesism' on an issue which doesn't need any alternative facts, Aaron Boone delivered a surprising defense of Hernandez on Tuesday. Boone said that Hernandez has "unfairly" been labeled as the face of bad umpiring around baseball.

Boone is right about one thing -- there are a lot of bad umpires in MLB. This can be true, but it's also fair to acknowledge just how bad Hernandez was as an umpire, especially in his later years. Hernandez made games behind home plate about him, rather than the on-field product. He was quick to eject players and managers alike, many of whom merely wanted a conversation.

Aaron Boone defending Angel Hernandez was not on our MLB bingo card

Boone hasn't been personally victimized by Hernandez, so perhaps he doesn't know how bad umpiring can get on this level. Hernandez is the face of a poor product because he is a significant part of the problem. With Hernandez out of the picture, MLB is significantly better than it was yesterday.

In late April, Boone was tossed out of a day game against the Oakland A's by Hunter Wendelstedt for a comment made by a fan above the Yankees dugout. Despite video evidence to the contrary, Wendelstedt claimed the criticism came from the team's dugout, which is why he ejected Boone. Even if Boone didn't make said critique, Wendelstedt held Boone personally liable for whatever was said. Yes, it's flawed logic.

That, along with countless examples of Boone ejections over the years, makes his defense of Hernandez all the more shocking. Perhaps he's grown numb to poor umpiring over the years. Heck, most baseball fans have. At this point we'll accept adequate.

Boone is wrong, though. Hernandez has arguably been one of the worst umpires in MLB for over a decade now. We wish him the best in his retirement, but by no means should Hernandez be allowed anywhere near a baseball diamond. Enjoy Florida, pal.