Ump Show: Angel Hernandez gives masterclass in screwing over Rangers star rookie

Picture this: Texas Rangers rookie Wyatt Langford, one of the top prospects in baseball now in his rookie season with the World Series champions, is at the dish. Infamous umpire Angel Hernandez is behind the plate. It's the fourth inning and the Rangers are beating the dogwater out of the rival Houston Astros already, 8-1.

But of course, it's an AL West rivalry and Texas would love nothing more than to pour it on, especially with Langford having the bases loaded and just one out. Give him a pitch to hit, and he can do even more damage.

Now imagine that Astros pitcher J.P. France can't find the zone. Ball 1 is in the dirt. Ball 2 is at Langford's eyes. Ball 3 cuts outside the zone noticeably. Ball 4 does the same. And then Ball 5 is the furthest cutter from the zone. Strike 3, Langford's out.

Welcome the terrible, no good, very bad eye of Angel Hernandez, who wrung up Langford with a strikeout in this exact scenario when the Rangers rising star didn't take the bat off his shoulder and didn't see a pitch inside the strike zone.

Angel Hernandez wrung up Wyatt Langford on 5 pitches outside the zone

It's one thing to see a single egregious missed call behind the plate from the umpire. It's only in Angel Hernandez's world that we're seeing three balls called strikes with each call being worse than the next. He's truly in a league of his own (and perhaps a world of his own) as one of the most inarguable feathers in the caps of those who want to the robo umpires.

Obviously, at the time, the Rangers didn't need more runs to the get the win, though the Astros did come back to make it closer in the eventual 12-8 loss. But that doesn't give Hernandez or any umpire an excuse to be this bad, to struggle this terribly to make what seems like pretty obvious and blatant ball-strike calls.

The Ump Show is always a problem, but it's like Leonardo DiCaprio in a Martin Scorsese movie whenever Angel Hernandez adds his performance to the mix.