The New York Yankees’ game on Monday against Toronto Blue Jays brought shocking speculation against none other than the Yankees’ Captain, Aaron Judge. Apparently, Sportsnet broadcasters Dan Schulman and Buck Martinez detected that Judge was peeking sideways during his eighth-inning at-bat against Rays’ Jay Jackson. They speculated that Judge might be getting a sign or something from the Yankees’ dugout about the upcoming pitch.
At the moment, ESPN analyst Buster Olney suggested that the Jays might be tipping their pitches in the 7-4 loss against the Yankees. And that is why Judge briefly looked toward the dugout. Now, just after 24 hours, the tables have turned because Blue Jays reliever Jay Jackson has himself accepted the same.
Jays Reliever Accepted He Tipped Pitches Against Aaron Judge On Monday
On Monday night, Yankees’ Aaron Judge pulled a homer against Jay Jackson in the eighth inning. Apparently, due to that homer, the Blue Jays’ reliever attempted the tipped pitch. He brought his hands up near his ear as he gripped the ball before the reliever came to the set position. At the time, several Blue Jays sources revealed that Jackson’s grip, which indicated his pitch type, was very much visible to the Yankees first-base coach Travis Chapman.
However, Jay Jackson himself revealed later that he was tipping the pitch. In a telephonic interview with the Athletic, he accepted that he was tipping his slider, but the timing of his delivery became an issue than his grip. And now, the pitcher has been sent down to the Triple-A for his misdeed.
“It was [less] my grip when I was coming behind my ear. It was the time it was taking me from my set position. From my glove coming from my head to my hip. On fastballs, I was kind of doing it quicker than on sliders. They were kind of picking up on it,” asserted the Blue Jays’ reliever.
Was Captain Judge Actually Cheating?
Meanwhile, when the Yankees’ Cap was asked about what he was doing mid-pitch, he thrashed all the cheating allegations. He even explained the exact situation. According to him, there was a lot of chirping going on at the Bombers’ dugout. And in the case where his team was 6-0, Judge did not like it. “When [manager Aaron Boone] got tossed, I tried to save Boonie by calling a timeout. Like ‘hold up here.’ So, I was trying to see who was chirping in the dugout,” revealed the slugger. Hence, even if Judge was looking at Chapmn for the pitch tell, it’s not against the MLB rules.
However, this is not the first time the New York Yankees got hit with cheating allegations. According to Olney, the bullpen has been alerted by MLB for the use of technology to steal signs from opposing teams illegally. They were also fined about $100,000 for the infractions.