The New York Yankees easily defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in Florida on Sunday, April 20, but star Aaron Judge and manager Aaron Boone departed with a bad taste in their mouths (pun intended). When Judge came up to bat in the top of the eighth inning, New York was leading 3-0. He hit what appeared to be a soaring home run to left field, but the third base umpire ruled it foul. A review was ordered, but the decision eventually stood. During the postgame interview, reporters queried Judge about the call. “It was a fair ball.”
“That’s why we got a replay,” Judge explained. “It is not on the umpire. It’s especially difficult in this case because the foul poles at a small league park aren’t as high. This is why you have replay. They cover every corner. “That is a fair ball.”
The Rays’ home stadium is Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. However, the facility’s roof was destroyed by Hurricane Milton and is therefore unsafe for usage. Thus, Tampa is playing its home games at Steinbrenner Field, whose dimensions undoubtedly contributed to the home run debate on Sunday. Following the review, Judge struck out on the first pitch, prompting Boone to walk onto the field and dispute with both the home plate umpire and the third base umpire.
He was eventually ejected. “The audacity of the call standing is remarkable,” Boone told reporters following the game. “I understand it’s high and imposing. But then it gets to replay, and I guess they didn’t find enough conclusive evidence.”
Had the hit been judged a fair ball, Judge’s season total would have been eight home runs. Currently, he has seven home runs in 22 games. He concluded the day with one single and two strikeouts in four at-bats, and the Yankees won 4-0.
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