The New York Yankees faced the Detroit Tigers for game two of their weekend series on May 4. With a 5-3 lead in the seventh inning, the Yankees dugout watched their captain get thrown out. Aaron Judge was ejected after seemingly disagreeing with a called third strike for the second out of the inning. This was Judge’s first time being ejected in his career. The Yankees went on to win the contest 5-3.
Judge was playing in his 869th career game when he was ejected for the first time. Manager Aaron Boone rushed out of the dugout to defend his star player, but umpire Ryan Blakney’s decision was not going to be changed.
Judge became the first Yankees captain ejected since Don Mattingly in 1994. Judge is the 16th captain in Yankees franchise history. The captain before Judge, Derek Jeter, was never ejected in his career. Judge became the first captain since Jeter retired in 2014.
Yankees Fans React
Judge was walking away after saying some words to the Blakney. On the way to the dugout, Judge had his back turned when Blakney tossed him from the contest. Whatever Judge said clearly didn’t sit right with Blakney, but fans think the call to eject Judge was wrong.
“No hyperbole. This type of umpire work is ruining baseball,” one fan wrote on X.
“That is the softest call I ever seen bro,” one fan commented on X.
“Obviously have to reserve judgment to hear what Judge actually said, but on first glance that’s pretty weak from the umpire,” a fan commented on X.
“Umpire forgot why the fans paid to come to the game. What a terrible display of umpiring,” one fan wrote on X.
“Home plate umps are terrible. First, that was outside. People pay big money to see players, not umps to throw players out. I’ve never seen a more soft group like MLB UMPS,” a fan commented on X.
Judge in 2024
While Judge is off to a slow start in 2024, he is still one of the best players in MLB. Judge is a five-time All-Star and won the American League MVP Award in 2022. Judge is slashing just .200/.336/.392 this season. However, he has hit six home runs and appeared in every game for the club.
Before his ejection, Judge hit a run-scoring double in the third inning to break a 1-1 tie and give the Yankees the lead. He would come around and score on an Anthony Rizzo home run.
Judge hit 62 home runs during his historic MVP season. He was off to a strong start in 2023 before a toe injury. The Yankees are not “overly concerned,” about Judge’s slow start, according to the New York Post’s Dan Martin.
“I’m not overly, overly concerned about it, but obviously, when you look at it, you’re not gonna say ‘there’s no concern,'” hitting coach James Rowson said on May 3. “There’s a level of wanting him to get going and getting back to himself, but right now, we’re trying to do the simple things of getting the timing of his swing right consistently.”
