Hernandez v. Office of Comm'r of Baseball

ANGEL HERNANDEZ, Plaintiff, v. THE OFFICE OF THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL andMAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL BLUE, INC., Defendants.

18-CV-9035 (JPO)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

March 31, 2021

OPINION AND ORDER

J. PAUL OETKEN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Angel Hernandez, a baseball umpire, brings this action against Defendants the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball and Major League Baseball Blue, Inc. (collectively, "MLB"), asserting claims for employment discrimination under federal and state law. (See Dkt. No. 35; Dkt. No. 123.) He claims that he was passed over for "crew chief" positions and World Series assignments due to unlawful discrimination based on his race, ethnicity and/or national origin. Hernandez has moved for partial summary judgment that he has established his prima facie case as to his disparate treatment and disparate impact claims. (See Dkt. No. 138.) MLB has cross-moved for summary judgment on all of Hernandez's claims. (See Dkt. Nos. 154, 157, 164.) For the reasons that follow, MLB's motion for summary judgment is granted and Hernandez's motion is denied as moot.

I. Background

A. MLB Major League Umpires

MLB employed 68 full-time Major League umpires between 2011 and 2013, and since 2014 it has employed 76 full-time umpires each season. (Dkt. No. 174 ("MLB SOF") ¶¶ 6-7.) A 2013 MLB document titled "2013 Department Overview" indicated that only seven percent of umpires were racial or ethnic minorities at the time. (Dkt. No. 142-1 ("Hern. SOF") ¶ 5.) For comparison, the same document indicated that 48 percent of NBA referees in 2012 and an estimated 40 percent of NFL referees in 2010 were minorities. (Hern. SOF ¶ 7.)

Each Major League umpire is assigned to a four-person crew, with one umpire designated crew chief, who leads the other umpires in his crew on the field. (MLB SOF ¶ 42.) Between 2011 and 2013, there were 17 permanent crew chief positions each season, and since 2014 there have been 19 such positions. (MLB SOF ¶¶ 44-45.)

Umpires may be selected to work in the World Series, the annual Major League Baseball championship series. (MLB SOF ¶¶ 54, 56-57.) The same umpiring crew works all games in the World Series, absent injury: from 2011 to 2013, six umpires worked each World Series, and since 2014 the World Series has been staffed by eight umpires. (MLB SOF ¶¶ 56-57.)

B. MLB's Umpire Evaluation Process

The Major League umpires' collective bargaining agreement ("CBA") provides that umpires will be evaluated on their ballpark performance over the course of the season by "Field Observers and/or Umpire Supervisors," who rate umpires on specific performance criteria that fall into one of three categories: "Effort and Professionalism," "Game and Situation Management," and "Field Mechanics." (Dkt. No. 142-13 ("2015 CBA") at DEF1445-48; Dkt. No. 142-14 ("2010 CBA") at DEF1280-83.)¹ Such reports are designated Field Evaluation Forms ("FEFs"). (2015 CBA at DEF1445; 2010 CBA at DEF1280.)

Under the CBA, umpires receive mid-season and end-of-season evaluations. (2015 CBA at DEF1450; 2010 CBA at DEF1285-86.) According to the CBA, mid-season evaluations are based on the umpire's performance up to that point in the season, and the end-of-season evaluation represents "a summary of all the reports received during the season," the umpire's ratings on a host of criteria, an overall rating, and "evaluative comments from the Office of the Commissioner." (2015 CBA at DEF1450; 2010 CBA at DEF1286.) On both FEFs and the mid- and end-season evaluations, umpires receive grades of "Exceeds Standard," "Meets Standard," or "Does Not Meet Standard." (2015 CBA at DEF1445, 1450; 2010 CBA at DEF1281, 1286.)

The record is not entirely clear regarding how MLB develops mid- and end-season evaluations. The CBA says such evaluations are "based on the reports submitted by the Supervisors and Field Observers," observations of MLB executives, and information from the electronic zone evaluation system. (2015 CBA at DEF1450; 2010 CBA at DEF1285-86.) In contrast, MLB executives testified that there should not be any comments in the year-end evaluations that are not found in the FEFs for the same period and that the ratings contained in evaluations "come from" the FEFs. (Dkt. No. 142-3 at 46:7-11; Dkt. No. 142-12 at 34:10-21, 132:15-24.)

C. MLB's Umpire Promotion Process

MLB hired Joe Torre as a baseball executive in 2011 and he became Chief Baseball Officer in 2015, remaining in the role until December 2019.² (MLB SOF ¶¶ 8-9; Dkt. No. 189 at ¶¶ 8-9.) Torre was "the final decision maker" for crew chief promotions from 2013 to 2018 and for World Series assignments from 2011 to 2019. (MLB SOF ¶¶ 50, 58.)

The CBA gives MLB "absolute and exclusive discretion" in umpire hiring and provides that, while the Office of the Commissioner "may consider seniority along with other factors that it may deem appropriate when exercising its appointment discretion, seniority shall not control" in crew chief selections. (2015 CBA at DEC1362-63; 2010 CBA at DEF1209-10.) It further provides that MLB must give any umpire who expressed interested in but was not selected for crew chief "a written statement of the reason(s) why the umpire was not chosen," if asked. (2015 CBA at DEC1363-64; 2010 CBA at DEF1210-11.)

In response to an interrogatory, MLB stated that:

In making crew chief selections, [MLB] considers the umpire's performance in the most recent season as well as the length and consistency of his career contributions. The Office of the Commissioner relies on a variety factors, including but not limited to:

• Leadership skills, including situation management, maintaining an appropriate pace-of-game, on-field presence, demeanor, hustle, focus, and integrity;

• Overall quality of performance, including strike zone accuracy, made/missed calls, ability to properly enforce the Reply Regulations and Procedures on the field and as a Reply Official, how much or how often the umpire exceeds/does not meet expectations, keeping the focus of the game on the field, and agility and position accuracy in getting the appropriate angle on calls;

• Fulfillment of duties and responsibilities, including attendance and the umpire's adherence to [various employment requirements]; and

• Initiative, including whether the umpire takes the initiative to train and mentor junior umpires.

In addition, the Officer of the Commissioner may consider seniority when exercising its appointment discretion, but seniority does not control the Office of the Commissioner's appointment decisions.

(Dkt. No. 142-15 at 5-6.) Nearly identical language is also present in at least two letters from MLB informing umpires why they were not selected for crew chief. (Dkt. Nos. 14-16, -17.) In adeclaration, Torre states that he considered "the consistent display of leadership skills" the "most important" factor in crew chief decisions. (Dkt. No. 177 ¶ 15.) Torre "did not place significant weight on [FEFs] for purposes of crew chief decisions and World Series selections." (Dkt. No. 189 ¶ 74.)

Similarly, MLB has exclusive discretion in selecting umpires for the World Series. (MLB SOF ¶ 70.) Torre declares that he "emphasized selection of umpires who displayed the highest levels of performance that season and throughout their careers." (MLB SOF ¶ 72.) As to his deposition, Torre testified that he considered an umpire's "combination experience and performance for the year" in making World Series assignments, with "experience" including seniority and "performance" including umpires' evaluations. (Dkt. 168-1 at 143,³ 31:7-13.)

D. Hernandez

Hernandez, a Cuban-born Latino, is a Major League baseball umpire employed by MLB since at least 1993. (Hern. SOF ¶ 1; Dkt. No. 188 ¶ 52.) From 2011 to 2016, Hernandez received nine "Exceeds Standard" ratings and two "Does Not Meet" ratings in his FEFs, receiving at least one "Exceeds Standard" rating each year. (Hern. SOF ¶ 61.) Over that same period, he received four "Exceeds Standard" ratings on year-end evaluations and did not receive any such ratings on his year-end evaluations in 2013, 2014, or 2015. (Hern. SOF ¶¶ 66-67.)

Hernandez applied for crew chief in 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018; he did not apply for the two available positions in 2015. (MLB SOF ¶ 51). He was not selected, and MLB chose white umpires to fill those positions. (Hern. SOF ¶¶ 87-125.)

Hernandez was last assigned to the World Series in 2005. (Hern. SOF ¶ 140.) Torre selected Hernandez to umpire in other postseason games — a precondition to serving as anumpire in the World Series — in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. (MLB SOF ¶¶ 59, 61-64.)

In his declaration, Torre avers that, in his view, Hernandez "had not consistently demonstrated the high level in those areas of performance" required to be crew chief or assigned to the World Series in 2011. (Dkt. No. 177 ¶ 19.) Torre's perspective was "underscored" by certain incidents, most notably a 2013 game in Cleveland in which Torre believes Hernandez made an incorrect call and became "preoccupied" with it. (Dkt. No. 188 ¶¶ 80-86.) Torre believes the Cleveland incident demonstrated that Hernandez was "unable or unwilling to take responsibility for his mistakes" in a way that prevented Hernandez from moving on and "remain[ing] 100 percent focused" on the field. (Dkt. No. 177 ¶ 21.) This issue was noted in Hernandez's mid- and end-of-season evaluations in 2014 and his end-of-season evaluation in 2016. (MLB SOF ¶¶ 88, 90, 94.) For his part, Hernandez alleges that Torre has a "history of animosity" toward Hernandez stemming from a 2001 incident in which Torre, then manager of the New York Yankees, publicly criticized Hernandez after a call Torre believed was incorrect. (Dkt. No. 35 ¶¶ 34-37.)

E. Procedural History

After filing an EEOC charge in May 2017, Hernandez filed this action on July 3, 2017. (See Dkt. No. 1.) On July 11, 2019, this Court granted MLB's motion to dismiss the claims under the Ohio Civil Rights...