MLB Names Second-Ever Female Umpire — Angela Hernandez — and Fans Can’t Help But Notice Something Familiar

NEW YORK - Just days after the historic announcement that Jen Pawol will become the first woman to umpire a Major League regular-season game this weekend between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves, MLB has doubled down on breaking barriers… sort of.

The league announced Thursday that Angela Hernandez has been assigned to call an exhibition game next week between the North Japan Samurai and the New York Mest — making her the second female umpire in MLB regular-season history.

While the news is officially being celebrated as another milestone for diversity in baseball, fans and players couldn’t help but notice that Angela Hernandez bears a striking resemblance to a recently retired umpire — one Angel Hernandez, infamous for a career filled with questionable strike zones, missed calls, and postgame explanations that somehow made less sense than the calls themselves.

Angela Hernandez Speaks

In a press release, Hernandez expressed her excitement:

"I’ve waited my whole career—uh, I mean, my whole life—for this opportunity. I promise to call balls and strikes with the same consistency I always—uh—women always bring to the job."

The quote, while intended to be inspiring, raised a few eyebrows. Social media quickly lit up with side-by-side comparisons of Angela’s debut headshot and Angel Hernandez’s retirement photo — with some users noting the uncanny match right down to the bushy eyebrows and jawline.

Umpires Angela Hernandez (left) and Angel Hernandez (right)

Skeptical Reactions

• Max Scherzer, Blue Jays pitcher: "If that’s not Angel Hernandez, I’ll throw a complete game without a pitch clock violation."

  
  

• MLB insider Jeff Passan: "Sources close to the league tell me they ‘cannot confirm nor deny’ whether Angela Hernandez once ejected an entire dugout in 2018 while wearing a men’s umpire cap."

  
  

• @UmpScorecards on X: "We look forward to reviewing Angela’s first plate game… assuming we can find the strike zone."

  
  

The Road Ahead for Female Umpires in MLB

While the Angela Hernandez situation has raised more than a few conspiracy theories, MLB insiders still believe this could mark the start of a new era for women in umpiring. There are at least five more female prospects in the minor leagues, and with the robot umpire debate heating up, the league might be motivated to fast-track them before AI takes over the plate entirely.

Of course, if Angela Hernandez is Angel Hernandez in a wig, this could either accelerate the push for automated strike zones — or somehow delay it, depending on how entertaining the blown calls are.

Next up: Angela’s debut in next week’s Samurai-Mest exhibition will be closely watched, both for history-making reasons and for the inevitable moment where she calls a 3-foot-outside pitch a strike and then defiantly stares into the dugout.

One thing’s for sure — MLB history is being made… even if it feels suspiciously like history repeating itself.