If Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda had been the Dodgers manager on Friday night when 28-year MLB umpire Angel Hernandez had called Dodgers centerfielder Chris Taylor out for swinging at a pitch that the entire viewing world could clearly see he did not swing at; or for a balk that Dodgers right-hander Jimmy Nelson did not commit, Hernandez’s shoes probably would have been covered in dirt.

But Tommy Lasorda, God rest his Dodger Blue soul, was not the Dodgers manager on Friday night; Dave Roberts was. As such, the 59-year-old Havana, Cuba native and very oft-criticized umpire got a harsh (I jest) finger-pointing from Roberts after he was ejected in the top of the eighth inning for (sort of) arguing Taylor’s strike call, which, of course, is an automatic ejection.

“I didn’t agree with the earlier balk call on Nelson, and right there, I’m in the third-base dugout, so I don’t have a great angle,” Roberts told reporters (via Zoom) after the game. “But it was pretty clear to me from the backside that CT didn’t go around. As a hitter, or anyone who’s played the game, knows that a 2-0 count is considerably different than a 1-1 count. I just think we all need to be held accountable, and he missed it.”

Although opinions are clearly – and strongly – divided over the implementation of an electronic strike zone at baseball’s highest level, Hernandez, who was actually the first base umpire on Friday night and called Taylor out on appeal of Milwaukee Brewers catcher Luke Maile, is, yet again, the poster child for ‘Robo-Umps,’ as the electronic strike zone is affectionately called.

The utter sad part about all of this is that nothing, absolutely nothing, will be done about Hernandez’s repeated incompetence. Nothing.

…not even a little dirt on his shoes.

Play Ball!

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