Angel Hernandez took his job to the extreme when he called Yusei Kikuchi for licking his fingers. This resulted in a walk for the Boston Red Sox.
The Boston Red Sox hosted the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday night and ended in a 2-1 victory, but Angel Hernandez was behind the plate and made himself the center of attention.
Go figure, right?
During the game, first base umpire Hernandez issued a walk to Red Sox outfielder J.D. Martinez because of a bizarre violation. Blue Jays pitcher Yusei Kikuchi was caught licking his fingers while on the rubber piece of the mound, and Hernandez called against him.
Hernandez is shown calling the play against Kikuchi by licking his finger. Commentators question the play before explaining this can’t be done on the rubber piece of the mound. Further analysis is shown to confirm Kikuchi was on the rubber and the play was accurately called.
Angel Hernandez has a history of bizarre and sometimes incorrect calls
Hernandez’s call on Tuesday caused a lot of conversation due to the seemingly random nature of it, and many people seem surprised his call was correct. According to Christopher Powers of GolfDigest, “When MLB umpire Angel Hernandez’s name is trending on social media, it almost always means he’s gotten a call catastrophically wrong, or simply thrust himself into the spotlight for no reason at all. And by almost always, we really mean always.”
Fans checked the MLB rulebook to confirm his call and have found evidence of rule 6.02(c) being violated.
(c) Pitching Prohibitions
The pitcher shall not:
(1) While in the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher’s plate, touch the ball after touching his mouth or lips, or touch his mouth or lips while he is in contact with the pitcher’s plate. The pitcher must clearly wipe the fingers of his pitching hand dry before touching the ball or the pitcher’s plate.
PENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately remove the ball from play and issue a warning to the pitcher. Any subsequent violation shall be called a ball. However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeat offenders shall be subject to a fine by the League President.
One of Hernandez’s notable inaccurate calls occurred last summer when he called a strike far out of the strike zone.
The pitch is shown outside of the strike zone, and further analysis proves the ball to be roughly six inches outside.