Aaron Judge almost went nine years before being ejected. But then the umpire Ryan Blakney’s single gesture broke that long-standing streak. In a game in which the New York Yankees handily won 5-3, the headlines were captured by their captain’s ejection. So what led to Judge getting sent off for the first time in his entire career? Aaron Boone has an answer for it.
Though Judge has always been one of the biggest victims of strike zone calls, the star has usually been composed during those moments. However, during the bottom of the seventh inning, Blakney called out a strike on All Rise. The captain was visibly upset with the answer and then glanced quickly at the umpire. He was then seen saying something to Blakney, who immediately signaled for Judge’s ejection.
On seeing this, Boone immediately confronted the umpire and shared a few words with him. In his postgame interview, the skipper shared what Blakney said to him about the ejection. “Just that he (Judge) said something you can’t say, I guess. And told me what he was saying. Especially in the nature that he was walking away, just felt, it felt like some things you got to try to avoid. I don’t feel like that necessarily happened,” Boone said.
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Aaron Judge just got ejected for the 1st time in his career pic.twitter.com/0QWnsabslB
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) May 4, 2024
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Immediately after the ejection, Judge and Boone were seen talking to Blakney. While Judge may have said something little before his ejection, the TV replays and field microphones caught his words after the act. “That’s bulls**t; you’ve been bulls**t all game,” the center fielder said to the umpire (via the New York Post).
While Boone was surprised, Judge too felt the same. The New York Yankees captain admitted that he has said “worse” things before, so he was surprised that he got ejected for this.
Aaron Judge’s ejection gets the New York Yankees clubhouse fuming.
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“You know these guys; you know the umpires and what you can and cannot say,” Anthony Rizzo said about the situation. Later, Rizzo agreed that there’s a line that you can’t cross with the umpires. However, at the same time, he said that Judge “got to that point.” This was something that was echoed by Boone too. The skipper noted that the judge didn’t get overly confrontational, so it was surprising that the umpire chose to eject him.
The Yankees have been vehemently defending their captain ever since his ejection. While it isn’t known what exactly Judge said to get tossed out, it adds another chapter to a growing list. In recent times, it has been seen that confrontations between umpires and players have increased. Either due to alleged missed calls or some other reason, the umpires have found themselves at the center of multiple controversies. Will this trend continue, or will it find a solution soon?