Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and to LaTroy Hawkins, pitching with Angel Hernandez behind the plate was an attractive proposition. Hernandez, who retired on Monday midway through his 31st season as a major league umpire, had become the go-to punchline for criticizing MLB’s on-field officiating — a reputation earned over time but exacerbated by advances in technology that place the official strike zone behind every batter in every telecast. His greatest hits made the rounds on social media almost as soon as USA Today broke the story of his retirement late Monday, but Hawkins — who pitched parts of 21 major league seasons, the first eight in Minnesota — never had a beef with Hernandez.
In the wake of his retirement, a lot of current and former players have noted that they liked Hernandez, 62, personally, including Twins catcher Ryan Jefferson on Tuesday. But Hawkins, 51, said what he liked about Hernandez was his work behind the plate. “Because he was consistent.
I tell people that,” Hawkins said before joining the telecast for Tuesday night’s Twins-Royals game at Target Field. “They say, ‘Yeah, consistently bad.’ I say, ‘But he was consistent.
’ “The only thing I hated as a pitcher was (umpires) that changed what a ball and a strike was depending on who was hitting or pitching. I didn’t like that. That didn’t matter with Angel.
” Justin Morneau was due to join Hawkins and play-by-play man Cory Provus, said he never considered Hernandez dif.
