Monday's news of MLB umpire Angel Hernandez's retirement was met with relief from most baseball fans, given Hernandez's controversial 34-year career.
Undoubtedly the most prominent MLB umpire for all the wrong reasons, Hernandez's mistakes behind the plate were just one reason for his shaky reputation. His reaction toward anyone who disagreed with his calls ranged from completely indifferent to over-the-top, which created even more opposition to his work.
Not even NFL players were safe from Hernandez's ire, as Bears legend Steve McMichael quickly found out during a Cubs game in 2001.
Here's a look back at the time Hernandez infamously ejected McMichael from a game at Wrigley Field.
MORE: Breaking down Angel Hernandez's most controversial calls
Angel Hernandez-Steve McMichael ejection, explained
McMichael, who spent 13 seasons with the Bears and was a key part of Chicago's historic 1985 defense, was on hand at Wrigley Field to sing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch on Aug. 7, 2001.
McMichael did sing — but not before he ripped into Hernandez in front of the entire stadium, after some controversial calls behind the plate. McMichael said he'd have something to say to "that home plate umpire" after the game and yelled "boo!" in Hernandez's direction.
Steve McMichael legendarily calling out Angel Hernandez during the 7th Inning Stretch. 🔊 pic.twitter.com/LQij6nkcSt
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 22, 2024
Cameras caught Hernandez staring up at McMichael, though they never actually captured an ejection signal from the umpire. Hernandez claims he never gave one.
Hernandez later told the Chicago Tribune that first base umpire Randy Marsh told him he would "handle the matter" and call security. McMichael would eventually leave his booth.
Marsh confirmed the sequence of events to the Chicago Tribune and said that then-Cubs GM Andy MacPhail apologized to the umpires after the game.
The Cubs would win the game in walk-off fashion, in a bizarre scene that began with a Joe Girardi single and ended with a run scoring while Girardi was caught in a prolonged rundown.
In this day and age, a fan might generate more controversy for praising Hernandez rather than criticizing him. Hernandez's frequent missed calls caused a public relations nightmare for MLB, and players — including Kyle Schwarber, who was famously ejected after an animated reaction to a missed call in 2022 — were beginning to express their frustration more openly in recent years.
MORE: CC Sabathia has comical reaction to Angel Hernandez's retirement
Why did Angel Hernandez retire?
Fans often wondered why Hernandez was still employed despite so much negative attention and poor results. Hernandez's union, the MLB Umpires Association, was believed to be a difficult roadblock to get past if the league attempted to fire the longtime umpire. It doesn't appear Hernandez's retirement was entirely voluntary, however.
Hernandez and MLB spent multiple weeks negotiating a "financial settlement," according to USA Today, and he decided to retire once the agreement was finalized. Hernandez hadn't umpired a game since May 9.
That indicates the league was working to get Hernandez out of the game, but the transaction couldn't be as simple as outright firing the umpire after 34 years.
Hernandez, meanwhile, said in a statement that he decided he wants to spend more time with family at this stage of his life. He missed a large portion of the 2023 season with a back injury.
Hernandez infamously sued MLB in 2017, alleging that racial discrimination was the reason he hadn't been chosen to umpire the World Series since 2005. A court ruled that Hernandez "failed to establish a statistically significant disparity between the promotion rates of white and minority umpires," rejecting his case, and Hernandez lost his appeal to have the case reinstated in 2023.
Hernandez, who debuted as an MLB umpire in 1991, is set to turn 63 in August.
