Sports

Aaron Judge wasn’t thrilled with the plate umpire

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s not in Aaron Judge’s DNA to howl at an umpire who might have missed a pitch on him. And across his short career, Judge hasn’t very often looked at an umpire with a quizzical face.

Nevertheless, when plate umpire Phil Cuzzi called Judge out on a 2-2 pitch in the first inning of Friday night’s 2-1 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field, Judge’s face told you he didn’t agree with the ump.

In the third inning it was much clearer that Judge didn’t like Cuzzi calling a strike on a 1-2 pitch. He lingered in the batter’s box and ever so softly shook his head on the way to the dugout.

Asked if he believed Judge was frustrated with the calls, Aaron Boone said he wasn’t worried about his slugger’s mindset at the plate.





“Nobody likes to get rung up, but I feel like [Judge] is really good at dealing with anything you throw at him,’’ Boone said of his DH who drove in the Yankees’ only run. “I am sure there is some frustration, but I don’t worry about him or affecting anything he does moving forward in the game.’’

Boone said he isn’t concerned that Judge’s demeanor is going to drastically change toward umpires.

“I don’t want him to be a certain way, I want him to be himself and be a pro, and being a pro can look a lot of different ways,’’ Boone said.





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