Aaron Judge offered an explanation on Monday night for his behavior during an at-bat that led to some suspicion.
Judge went 2-for-2 with two home runs and three walks in his New York Yankees’ 7-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays. Judge hit a solo home run with his team up 6-0 in the top of the eighth inning.
The Blue Jays’ announcers made a big deal during the at-bat of noting how Judge was glancing towards the Yankees’ dugout just before pitches arrived (watch here).
Judge was asked after the game about the videos. He took a few seconds to recall what was going on before explaining things with a chuckle. Judge said that the Yankees’ dugout was still chirping following manager Aaron Boone’s ejection with a 1-2 count.
Judge, who is a team captain, didn’t like his players still talking with a 6-0 lead.
“A lot of chirping from our dugout, which I really didn’t like in the situation where it’s a 6-0 game. I know [Aaron Boone] got tossed … I was kind of trying to see who was chirping in the dugout. It’s 6-0. Boonie got tossed. It’s 6-0. Let’s go to work now,” Judge said.
Judge has slugged 230 career home runs and never before been accused of improper behavior in the batter’s box. His explanation also syncs up with the timing of Boone’s ejection after the 1-2 count.
Blue Jays reliever Jay Jackson missing his target by about 6 inches while serving up a slow breaking ball down the middle didn’t exactly help either.
You can watch the video and hear Judge’s explanation:
Aaron Judge says he was looking toward the Yankees dugout because he didn't like how much his teammates were chirping the umpire with a 6-0 lead
"I said a couple things to some guys in the dugout and especially after the game. Hopefully it won't happen again." pic.twitter.com/rMJ05Ilp0r
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 16, 2023
