Schwarber loses his mind on Ángel Hernández, a breakdown

Apr 25, 2022 3.7M views 5:18

What Happened

On a nationally televised Sunday Night Baseball game in April 2022, Reds catcher Kyle Schwarber, wait, actually Schwarber was with the Phillies that season, ended his at-bat against Tigers closer Josh Hader by getting rung up on a called third strike from umpire Ángel Hernández in the ninth inning with his team down a run. Schwarber slammed his bat and helmet and screamed at Hernández, arguing the pitch and the previous one were nearly identical and both off the plate. Jomboy walks through a game full of questionable calls on both sides, then uses Baseball Savant to show 19 missed calls, including the back-to-back balls Hernández rang up as strikes to end Schwarber's day. Manager Joe Girardi also got into it with Hernández.

Why This Matters

The footage landed at a charged moment for Hernández. He'd sued MLB alleging racial discrimination over being passed over for crew chief and World Series assignments, and the league's own court filing argued he simply lacked the skills, which Jomboy quotes directly. That context turns a single blown call into a referendum on umpire accountability and the case for an automated strike zone. The pitches that set Schwarber off, the fifth and sixth of the at-bat, both registered as balls on Savant but were called strikes, so his fury was earned. With no replay for ball-strike calls, players have zero recourse, and that helplessness is the real story. The video fed the growing public push toward ABS challenge systems that MLB later tested in the minors and brought to spring training. Schwarber's outburst became one of the season's signature umpire moments.

At 3.7M views it ranks 32nd of 1,583 Jomboy breakdowns, landing in the top 2% of the entire catalog.

Key Moments

Who / What Is Involved

Players: Kyle Schwarber, Ángel Hernández. Teams: Reds.

Key Terms Mentioned

Full Transcript

Click timestamps to jump to that moment

this episode of Angel Hernandez is

brought to you by seatgeek previously on

Angel Hernandez if you don't know who

Angel Hernandez is well he sued mlb

because he said that he's been