New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge on Monday night against the Toronto Blue Jays created a controversy of sorts when he appeared to glance toward the Yankee dugout just prior to hitting a deep home run off of reliever Jay Jackson.
Here's the entire sequence of events:
Aaron Judge hits a home run as the Blue Jays broadcasters wonder why he keeps glancing toward the dugout pic.twitter.com/ZrOY7grbYV
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 16, 2023
On occasion hitters will attempt to steal a late look at the catcher in order to determine where he's setting up for the pitch, which is not against the rules. This, however, appears to be a quick look toward the Yankee dugout, and that led to speculation that Judge may have been doing so in order to, say, get a stolen sign passed along to him. After the game, Judge said he was merely distracted by some "chirping" in the visitor's dugout.
On Tuesday, however, the plot thickened just a bit.
While Toronto manager John Schneider indicated his team was working ensure they weren't unknowingly tipping off opposing hitters, the club also said they had asked MLB to look into whether Yankee base coaches were at times positioned outside of their assigned boxes in foul territory.
More:
Based on current info, MLB doesn't believe a major violation of rules occurred last night, though the league reviewed one specific area with the Blue Jays.
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) May 16, 2023
Based on John Schneider's comments, that's likely tied to positioning of Yankees base coaches (circled below in 8th inning) pic.twitter.com/nHPZYeL0ux
Yankees manager Aaron Boone, for his part, said the team talked to the league office but does not expect an investigation.
Schneider also sounds as though he doesn't entirely believe Judge's explanation for his sideways glance:
Schneider on Judge's explanation: "I’m not in the business of buying postgame media. It's, again, a really accomplished hitter who won MVP last year. I just found it a little funny that he was worried about his his dugout while he was in the batter's box." #Yankees #BlueJays
— Gary Phillips (@GaryHPhillips) May 16, 2023
As for Judge, one day later he sounds none too pleased that the Blue Jays' broadcast booth drew attention to whatever it was he was doing -- if indeed it was anything at all:
Aaron Judge said that he has some “choice words about” about the Blue Jays broadcasters insinuating that he was cheating. He declined to share them. “I’m not happy about it, but people can say what they want. I’ve still got a game to play. I’ve got things to do.”
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) May 16, 2023
Whatever the truth of things, the flare-up has added intrigue to what's already a divisional rivalry between aspiring contenders. The Yankees and host Jays will play the second game of their four-game set on Tuesday night. The Yankees come in having won seven of their last 10 and are one game behind the third-place Jays.