Longtime MLB umpire Angel Hernandez is often the target of contempt among baseball fans and observers alike for his rather checkered history of questionable calls -- but on Thursday he did right by a young Yankees fan.
The nice scene unfolded after Bombers behemoth Giancarlo Stanton scorched a laser beam of a home run to the short porch in right field for an opposite-field blast off Twins lefty Andrew Albers in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The blast extended the Yankees' lead to three runs, but the celebration among some of the Bleacher Creatures was a bit muted when fans realized a youngster sat behind the right-field wall had been drilled in the head by the screaming line drive, which was clocked at nearly 106 mph coming off Stanton's bat.
Incredibly, the boy appeared to be OK, popping up immediately after absorbing the frozen rope -- although he lost out on a potential souvenir when the heat-seeking missile careened several rows back after ricocheting off his head.
Hernandez, who was the second-base umpire for the affair, apparently witnessed the scary incident -- as did several players in the Yankees dugout seemed -- and made sure the young fan left with more than just a bruise.
Videos uploaded to social media by fans sat near the right-field corner showed the veteran ump jogging back toward the wall between innings, and tossing a ball up to the young man.
Hernandez may be one of the game's least-respected umpires in terms of his calls between the lines, but at least his heart was in the right place on this night. Job well done.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram