New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge has denied allegations of cheating after he was accused of taking a sideways peek before hitting a 462-foot home run in Toronto. Judge expressed his displeasure at being branded a potential cheater, adding that he had some choice words about the accusation. The Blue Jays manager, John Schneider, revealed that they spoke to Major League Baseball about the positioning of the New York team’s base coaches. The commissioner’s office confirmed that it was aware of the situation and would be paying attention to it. However, the Yankees manager, Aaron Boone, said that his team had also been in touch with MLB and that nothing against the rules had taken place.
Schneider Says Fair Play is Important
While there is no rule prohibiting players and coaches from studying opponents with their eyes, Schneider emphasized the importance of fair play. He noted that it was up to his team to ensure that they do not inadvertently give away pitch locations or signs. Schneider added that he was concerned about where opposing base coaches stand and that every team has their guard up on that. He explained that it was easy to look at a runner at second when hitting and tough to look into the dugout. However, it was probably a little bit easier to look at a coach. Schneider stressed that there were boxes on the field for a reason and that when it is a glaring 30 feet where you’re not in that spot, you kind of put two and two together a little bit.
After Monday’s game, Judge said he looked into his dugout to see which of his teammates was disrupting his at-bat by yelling at plate umpire Clint Vondrak. Vondrak had just ejected Boone for arguing a low strike call to Judge. Schneider, however, did not believe Judge’s explanation, saying that he did not buy postgame media. Nonetheless, he acknowledged that Judge was a really accomplished hitter who won the MVP last year, and he knows that he means nothing but business and wants to win.
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