A federal appeals court in New York on Tuesday dismissed Angel Hernandez’s lawsuit accusing Major League Baseball of racial discrimination, according to The Guardian. ESPN.
Hernandez, who was born in Cuba, made the case in 2017 after serving as interim crew chief from 2011 to 2016. This came after he was promoted to crew chief and not selected to work the world championships. The appeal was filed in June 2022.
The 61-year-old has claimed that former MLB baseball catcher Joe Torre blocked him from the promotion because he harbored animosity towards Hernandez. Hernandez claimed that this tension traced back to Torre’s tenure as manager of the New York Yankees. The umpiring attorney, Nicholas R. Gregg, argued that MLB was wrong in giving Torre 100% power to make crew chief decisions.
In the years since the lawsuit was filed, Hernandez has also accused MLB executive umpire Randy Marsh of making “disturbing” racist comments, while MLB has alleged that Hernandez once improperly wiretapped a league call.
When Hernandez lost the case in 2021, the judge said MLB made a compelling case that Torre had reason to believe Hernandez was not a good enough referee to merit the promotion.
His appeal accused MLB of tampering with internal evaluations against minority umpires. The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in Manhattan rejected this argument in a 3-0 decision.
Hernandez missed more than three months of the season with a back injury. His return to the Diamonds saw some classic performances, including Saturday’s Yankees-Marlins game in Miami. He missed 15 calls in the game as announcers made blunt comments about his work. He’s sitting last in the right-handed average this season, according to the Umpire Auditor.
Despite Hernandez’s questionable calls, the Marlins defeated Sandy Alcantara in the losing battle to take the win in a complete game.
