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New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge. Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

MLB reporters defend Aaron Judge over odd glances during at-bat

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 5/16/23

A host of MLB reporters have come to the defense of Aaron Judge following Monday night's bizarre scene where he was caught on camera glancing away from the pitcher immediately before hitting a home run.

During the at-bat in question, Toronto Blue Jays announcers Buck Martinez and Dan Shulman noted that on multiple occasions, the New York Yankees slugger briefly looked to his right while in the batter's box, waiting for the pitch to be thrown. After the second side glance, Judge crushed a solo home run to center field (his second of the game) to extend his team's lead to 7-0.

Nothing to see here. 1. Jay Jackson is a journeyman just called up. 2. He hung his 3rd straight slider over the middle. 3. It was at a time there was activity in the dugout, 4. There’s no video of earlier peeks when the game was closer than 6-zip. 5. Judge hits lots of homers.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) May 16, 2023

Totally fair for the Jays broadcast (Dan and Buck are total pros) to point out Judge is looking towards the dugout

But worth pointing out the Astros scandal became a big thing because they used technology to steal signs

Deciphering the signs of the other team is not illegal https://t.co/y9mWXtD28s
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) May 16, 2023

When asked about the side glances following the game, Judge told reporters that the Yankees' dugout was "chirping" after manager Aaron Boone's ejection from earlier in his at-bat.

"A lot of chirping from our dugout, which I really didn’t like in the situation where it’s a 6-0 game. I know [Aaron Boone] got tossed. I was kind of trying to see who was chirping in the dugout. It’s 6-0. Boonie got tossed. It’s 6-0. Let’s go to work now," the 2022 AL MVP said.

ESPN's Buster Olney and Yahoo Sports' Hannah Keyser pointed out that even if Judge was doing what Martinez and Shulman were hinting at, it wouldn't be illegal.

this is a good time to remind people who are inclined to speculate that, if a pitcher is tipping his pitches, *for instance*, it would not be illegal to decipher that.

also I regret contributing to this discourse. never tweet.
— Hannah Keyser (@HannahRKeyser) May 16, 2023

There is an assumption on the Jays' side that their pitchers/catcher were betraying the identity of the forthcoming pitches last night, and that this was being conveyed to Aaron Judge -- and this is why he was glancing to his right, for info.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 16, 2023

Despite missing over one week of games in late April and early May due to a hip injury, Judge is still tied for second in the American League with his 10 home runs.

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