MLB umpire Angel Hernandez was at the center of another heated dispute in this week's Indians-Royals series in Kansas City on Wednesday night.
The controversial veteran ump was back in the spotlight after ejecting a trio of Royals -- including manager Mike Matheny and pitching coach Cal Eldred -- over a questionable sequence of calls in the sixth inning.
The final Royal to be tossed, pitcher Brady Singer, got the heave for berating Hernandez on his way back to the home dugout after he was removed from the game with two outs in the inning. Singer appeared to direct some choice words in Hernandez's direction, and briefly confronted him.
The incident comes just one night after the 27-year veteran butchered a call in a game between the same teams, when he incorrectly ruled a long fly hit by the Royals' Salvador Perez had been caught by an Indians outfielder on the warning track. In fact, the ball was not caught, and the play was reversed -- but Hernandez later admitted he had "basically guessed."
With Tuesday's incident presumably still very much at the fore for the Royals, it didn't take much to provoke them on Wednesday.
It started when Hernandez, calling balls and strikes, awarded Indians slugger Jose Ramirez first base on a questionable hit-by-pitch. The play was reviewed and upheld, though some observers on social media still disagreed. Singer was later called for a balk when he tried to pick off Ramirez -- and that's when the fireworks began.
Just another day at the office for one of baseball's most senior umpires.
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