Aaron Judge is usually the one producing runs, but on Monday, he notably gave one away.
The New York Yankees star Judge committed a blunder in the outfield during the third inning against the Texas Rangers. With runner Marcus Semien on first base and two men out, Texas infielder Josh Smith slapped a base hit into center field off Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole.
Judge, who was playing in center, was a bit too casual in fielding the ball. He then double-clutched on the throw, possibly because he was unsure where to go with it as Smith was hustling into second. As a result, there was no play by the time that Judge’s throw got back into the infield, and Semien was able to score all the way from first base.
Here is the video of the play.
Rangers got their first run on this ball that Aaron Judge double clutched on pic.twitter.com/rFJjwcR9Kt
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) September 3, 2024
The six-time All-Star Judge is the frontrunner for AL MVP this season, posting a monster 51 home runs and 123 RBIs through just 135 games so far. But Judge has primarily been a right fielder throughout his MLB career, and this is his first year of effectively being a full-time center fielder (whenever he does not DH).
As for the Yankees, this has become all too familiar of a refrain for them. Even Judge’s star teammate Juan Soto has recently been prone to mistakes in the outfield as well.
