Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees captain, had a strange altercation with MLB umpire Ryan Blakney last weekend during a home a game against Detroit Tigers. The Yanks were leading the series 1-0 when Judge was called for a strike and things got ugly thereafter.
Aaron Judge was bewildered with Ryan Blakney’s call and his soft protest irked the umpire so much that he ejected the Yankees captain in front of a packed crowd. Meanwhile, days after the controversial incident, Bombers manager Aaron Boone opened up on the incident and revealed how he poked fun at Judge for getting his career first ejection.
Aaron Boone Welcomes Aaron Judge To The ‘Ejection’ Club!
Aaron Judge’s ejection against the Tigers came as a shock to many observers, as the captain, known for his professionalism and composed demeanor, was uncharacteristically tossed from the game after a seemingly innocuous exchange with the umpire. It all started after Judge fired shots at umpire Ryan Blakney for a dubious strike call. Ryan didn’t like the captain’s choice of words and hence tossed him even as Judge was silently walking back to the dugout. After the ejection call, Aaron Judge reverted back to Blakney, fuming to seek an explanation before manager Aaron Boone rushed to intervene and calm the situation down. Judge eventually had to exit the game and expressed his displeasure at what he believed was a soft ejection.
Meanwhile, New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone shed more light on the incident in his recent podcast appearance with Talkin Yanks. Boone said Aaron Judge surely didn’t deserve to get ejected. His stance was not aggressive, and in fact, the captain was walking back after saying his piece. Nonetheless, since the Yanks ended up winning the game, Boone could joke about the incident back in the clubhouse. Boone, who has been ejected countless times as a manager, welcomed Judge to the ejection club. Notably, Judge, in his nine-year-long MLB career, had never been tossed until last weekend. Not only that, the 31-year-old scripted unwanted franchise history for becoming the first captain to be ejected since Don Mattingly in 1994. Regardless, the Yankee captain was mature enough to move on from the incident as he smoked a massive home run in the very next at-bat.
Anthony Rizzo Calls Umpire Sensitive After Aaron Judge’s Ejection
Aaron Judge’s first career ejection riled up his teammate and best friend, Anthony Rizzo. He yelled at the umpire, Ryan Blakney, from the dugout, pleading that it was the softest ejection he had ever seen. In the post-game interview, Rizzo referred to the umpire as sensitive in claiming that the Judge didn’t cross the fine line of disrespect.
He had every right to protest over the umpire’s call, and he did it in the most respectful manner. Even Aaron Judge agreed with his best pal Anthony Rizzo and claimed that he was surprised by the ejection. Judge added that he had previously gotten away with much worse altercations, and what happened to him this weekend was surely unjustified.
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