Joe Torre-Umpire Dispute Spills Into Court as MLB Accused of Bias

Long-time umpire Angel Hernandez says in a new lawsuit that he has faced race and national origin discrimination by Major League Baseball under Chief Baseball Officer Joe Torre (Hernandez v. Office of Comm’r of Baseball, S.D. Ohio, No. 1:17-cv-00456, complaint filed 7/3/17).

The workplace slights have included “a noticeable tonal shift” in Hernandez’s performance evaluations since Torre took office in February 2011, according to a lawsuit filed July 3 in federal court in Ohio. Hernandez’s evaluations now never fail to mention Torre’s perception that Hernandez tries to “put himself in the spotlight,” the complaint says.

That impression of ...