Major League Baseball and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred have found themselves in the crosshairs of a new lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.
Angel Hernandez, a 55 year old Cuban-born umpire, has filed suit claiming that MLB has racially discriminated against him in their promotion and post-season assignment policy.
According to a report from the Cincinnati Enquirer, in the suit, Hernandez alleges that, “He has been passed over several times for a chance to work the World Series despite high marks on evaluations. The suit also charges that even though Hernandez was made a temporary crew chief, it has never been made permanent.
“The suit accuses MLB of promoting only one minority umpire to permanent crew chief in the history of the game (a Hispanic) and that only one non-white umpire has worked a World Series since 2011.”
According to a review from the Cincinnati Enquirer, “There are just under 100 umpires currently on the MLB roster; an Enquirer review of the roster and the photos and biographies attached to it indicates about 10 are African-American or Hispanic.”
Angel Hernandez should not be allowed to umpire in the World Series. Not because he’s Hispanic, but simply because he might be the worst umpire in all of Major League Baseball. Whoever gave him “high marks on evaluations,” shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the Fall Classic either.
Perhaps most famously, Hernandez robbed the Oakland A’s of a game-tying homerun in 2013, even getting the call wrong after review, then having the audacity to tell reporters that he didn’t want his post-game comments recorded.
No one should be excluded from the World Series because of their race. However, everyone should get excluded from the World Series if their bad at their job.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
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