Aaron Judge booed as allegations of cheating swirl around Yankees

After Aaron Judge struck out in the third inning Tuesday, there was a brief shouting match between Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker and Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas.

News 12 Staff

May 17, 2023, 2:58 AM

Updated 574 days ago

Share:

New York Yankees right-fielder Aaron Judge was booed during his first two at-bats following allegations of sign stealing on Monday.
After Judge struck out in the third inning Tuesday, there was a brief shouting match between Blue Jays pitching coach Pete Walker and Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas. Walker went to the outfield end of the dugout, yelling and gesturing at Rojas, a former Mets manager.
Before batting practice, Judge said he doesn’t appreciate being branded a potential cheater after he took a sideways peek before hitting a 462-foot home run in Monday's 7-4 win.
“I’ve got some choice words about that, but I’m just going to keep that off the record,” Judge said.
Judge said he was upset at the suggestion he was benefitting from sign stealing after the Toronto television broadcast picked up his sideways glance during his eighth-inning at-bat against right-hander Jay Jackson.
WATCH: 'The Athletic' writer Chris Kirschner discusses Aaron Judge controversy
“I’m not happy about it, but people can say what they want,” Judge said. “I’ve still got a game to play, I’ve got things I’ve got to do. I told you guys what happened and everybody else can make their own story about it if they want.”
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said it’s up to his players to make sure they don’t inadvertently give away pitch locations or signs.
“What’s fair is fair, I think, and if our guys are giving stuff away, we have to be better at that,” Schneider said. “If things are being picked up from people that aren’t in places they should be, that’s where I think the line should be drawn.”
Schneider was then asked whether he was specifically concerned about where opposing base coaches stand.
“Every team kind of has their guard up on that,” Schneider said. “It’s easy to look at a runner at second when you’re hitting, tough to look into the dugout. Probably a little bit easier to look at a coach. There’s boxes on the field for a reason. When it’s a glaring 30 feet where you’re not in that spot, you kind of put two and two together a little bit.”
After Monday’s game, Judge said he looked into his dugout to see which of his teammates was disrupting his at-bat by yelling at plate umpire Clint Vondrak. Vondrak had just ejected New York manager Aaron Boone for arguing a low strike call to Judge.
Schneider said he didn’t think much of Judge’s explanation.
“I’m not in the business of buying post-game media,” Schneider said. “It’s a really accomplished hitter who won the MVP last year. I know that he means nothing but business and wants to win. I just found it a little funny that he was worrying about his dugout while he was in the batter’s box.”
The Yankees beat the Blue Jays 6-3 thanks to a two-run tiebreaking homerun from Judge in the eighth inning.
Associated Press writer Ian Harrison contributed to this report.