Were Aaron Judge and the Yankees Cheating?

Accusations that Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees may have cheated against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

Kade Kistner | May 16, 2023

Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

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New York Yankees

Drama is abound in MLB as new cheating accusations against Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees have arisen.

On Monday night, Judge was up to bat with a 6-0 lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. Just a few pitches earlier, Yankees manager Aaron Boone had been ejected over arguing a strike call from the home plate umpire.

During that at-bat, Judge could be seen peering over to his dugout and then immediately hit a 462-foot home run that came off the bat at 114.9-mph. An absolute scorcher.

It prompted people to question why Judge would look over to his dugout during an at-bat and then hit a home run. It illicits thoughts of the 2017 Houston Astros.

Then, the Blue Jays broadcasters decided to double down on it while on air.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider also had some thoughts on the situation.

"It's kind of odd that a hitter would be looking in that direction," Schneider said.

Judge said he was looking that way because his teammates were still loudly voicing their displeasure about Boone's ejection and was looking for them to calm down while he was at-bat.

Boone echoed the same thing.

"[Judge] was kind of looking over like, 'I'm hitting here,'" Boone said.

In the end, it raises some questions, but perhaps it was just a coincidence following an objectionable ejection?

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Published May 16, 2023

KADE KISTNER

Kade Kistner is the publisher and beat writer for Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies. An alumnus of Tulane University, Kade graduated in 2017 with a degree in Latin American Studies and a minor in Spanish. Upon graduation, Kade commissioned into the United States Navy and attended Naval Flight School in Pensacola, Fl. He served as a Naval Aviator and was stationed in Jacksonville, Fl. During his time in school and the Navy, Kade began covering the MLB and NFL with USA Today, SB Nation, and Sports Illustrated. Kade covered the New Orleans Saints, Texas Rangers, and numerous other teams within the Sports Illustrated network before launching Inside the Phillies, Inside the Astros, and Inside the Cubs. You can follow him on Twitter at @KadeKistner, or if you have any questions or comments he can be reached via email at kwkistner@gmail.com.