Why Yankees' Aaron Judge was mad over Shohei Ohtani robbery

"You don’t want to know what was going through my head after that," Judge admitted following New York's 3-2 extra-innings victory, as shared by Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Some choice words. I thought I missed it. But we made the play and that’s all that matters." 

Judge set an American League single-season record of 62 home runs and earned AL Most Valuable Player honors for his efforts last year. The four-time All-Star selection re-signed with the Yankees via a nine-year contract reportedly worth $360M and then revealed last month he "missed a couple marks" in 2022 that he set for himself ahead of his historic campaign. 

Most assumed Judge wanted to strike out less moving forward after he was responsible for the seventh-most Ks (175) in MLB last year, per ESPN stats. It sounds like the 30-year-old also has high standards for himself as it pertains to his outfield work.

"If I was a good outfielder, I would have caught it on the first try," Judge added while grinning about Wednesday's highlight-reel play. "It was a bit of a juggling act there. It’s tough timing those ones up. I'm glad we don’t have a roof here because that thing definitely would have hit the roof. It’s impressive what Ohtani can do." 

Unsurprisingly, Judge praised Ohtani for a second straight day. It's hardly a secret the Yankees captain wants to have the 2021 AL MVP as a teammate perhaps as soon as this summer. For now, Judge is doing all he can to keep his eyes on the biggest of prizes. 

"The first goal is a win a championship," he said on Wednesday night. "Hopefully when we win a championship, we can throw a Gold Glove in there, too."