Aaron Judge mashed two more home runs Monday night, but it’s what he did right before his second home run that had many fans talking.
The New York Yankees star hit a 462-foot homer in the eighth inning to help cement a 7-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
During that at-bat, however, Judge appeared to glance toward the Yankees dugout. The Toronto Blue Jays broadcast team of play-by-play announcer Dan Shulman and analyst Buck Martinez questioned what Judge was doing in a video that quickly went viral.
“Where’s he looking? And he did it more than once,” Shulman said.
“It’s really, really unusual,” Martinez noted.
"You don’t wanna go throwing allegations around without knowing, but…"- Dan Shulman
"Once again, he's looking at SOMETHING, then the next move is that powerful swing, and he blasts one to center field. I've not seen that before with him. I've not ever seen that."- Buck Martinez https://t.co/7agU7wCwFt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 16, 2023
Conspiracy theorists immediately went wild on Twitter, alluding to the Houston Astros’ infamous sign-stealing scandal, with zero evidence, it must be noted.
Yet there are several plausible explanations to explain Judge’s eye movements. Former MLB pitcher Robert Stock tweeted, “If the pitcher (or a defender) is tipping pitches from a vantage point not visible by the batter, it’s entirely possible it’s being relayed by someone standing on the railing from the dugout. And that’s entirely fair game.
If the pitcher (or a defender) is tipping pitches from a vantage point not visible by the batter, it’s entirely possible it’s being relayed by someone standing on the railing from the dugout. And that’s entirely fair game. https://t.co/TldO9OByrL
— Robert Stock (@RobertStock6) May 16, 2023
Baseball fans offered other possible explanations Judge’s mysterious actions.
It’s also entirely plausible that the same tip is coming from a less legal source and being related by the dugout.
I do not think that is what’s happening but it’s just as plausible that there’s something fishy happening as something legal, no?
— Tom Peake (@tompeake_) May 16, 2023
As a Yankees fan, this should be investigated when he retires… 😂😂😂
— LordSportsPicks (@LordSportsPicks) May 16, 2023
I respect cheating when it helps my team!
— gabe (@PlayoffTanaka_) May 16, 2023
Interesting. As a Yankee fan I hope he’s looking at the pitch clock and nothing more but I’m not sure. I definitely don’t think he was looking to see where the catcher was setup.
— Skye Luque 🇺🇸 (@LuqueMeatSauce) May 16, 2023
This is extremely unprofessional to assume this about a player. Let others uncover it if it’s true. Don’t sit there while your team is getting hammered and start crying about it
— Bryan Smith (@bryansmith7326) May 16, 2023
Buck said it himself that it’s never fair to assume anything but it’s just worth noting
— Sad_Raptors_Fan (@Sad_Raptors_Fan) May 16, 2023
He’s probably looking at the pitch clock. Someone should ask him after the game?
— Catheryn ⚾️🏈🏀🇺🇸♍️ (@careym74) May 16, 2023
[Jomboy Media; Photo Credit: SN]
