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Angel Hernandez is calling it quits on an umpiring career, at least with the MLB. After three decades in the league, reports have surfaced about a pending retirement announcement to come this week.
The news has ignited a firestorm of online reaction from baseball fans and viewers as many look back on the oft-criticized umpire’s most controversial moments.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first on the scene in terms of making the retirement break. Expected to go public with a statement on his future Tuesday, it was an end that seemed imminent given Hernandez’s struggles.
Hernandez, who once sued the MLB for not assigning him to World Series games, was rated as the worst blue in the bigs last season. His 2024 campaign didn’t get off to a much better start, and just two months after Opening Day, it seems his year is coming to an end.
The MLB was rumored to have had enough!
A number of outlets latched onto the retirement news, blasting out quick updates for followers to see. Social media users might’ve noticed an interesting trend on those updates in the comments section.
LASIK pettily trolled Angel Hernandez with spam messages.
We tried to give Angel free LASIK but he missed the call. 🤷♀️
— LASIK.com (@LASIKdotcom) May 28, 2024
Not only did the @LASIKdotcom account post a clever quip after catching wind of the viral retirement, but it also spammed news reports with the same reply in a plethora of threads. The pettiness is unmatched!
LASIK Eye Surgery spamming every Angel Hernandez post will be in marketing textbooks for years to come pic.twitter.com/V03Sb0eRBo
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 28, 2024
“We tried to give him free LASIK,” the responses read on nearly every major Angel Hernandez related story. Based on some of the egregious whiffs seen over the last few seasons, a little eye surgery probably wouldn’t have hurt!
Angel Hernandez’s retirement announcement will likely be celebrated by fans and players alike after years of what they believed to be subpar officiating. Who knew it would also offer the perfect marketing opportunity?!