TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were angry over the home run that wasn’t.
Judge drove a changeup from Tampa Bay’s Eric Orze deep down the left-field line, high above the foul pole at Steinbrenner Field.
Umpires called the ball foul, a decision upheld in a video review. Judge and manager Aaron Boone were convinced it should have been Judge’s eighth home run of the season.
“I think everybody is kind of scratching their head but nothing I can do about it. They missed it and we just got to move on,” Judge said following the Yankees’ 4-0 win.
Boone was ejected after plate umpire Adam Beck called a third strike on the next pitch.
“The audacity of the call standing is remarkable,” Boone said. “I get it’s high, towering, but then it goes to replay and I guess they couldn’t find enough conclusive, so we got to live with the call.”
Judge started to have words with Beck after the called third strike. Boone came out of the dugout and immediately was tossed by Beck, then argued with third base umpire Scott Barry over the home run decision. It was the 40th managerial ejection for Boone and first this season.
“It was a fair ball, but that’s why you got replay,” Judge said. “It’s tough in a situation like this where in a minor league park the foul poles aren’t as high, so that’s why you have replay, you got every angle. It’s a terrible call.”
A two-time AL MVP, Judge is hitting .390 with a major league-leading 25 RBIs.
Yankees teammate Cody Bellinger was impressed by the drive, which landed in the trees beyond left field.
“It was probably the farthest ball I’ve ever seen hit,” he said.
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