Sep 23, 2022; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) jogs off the field after the top of the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

College Football fans not happy with ESPN's Aaron Judge split screen

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 9/24/22

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is chasing some history as he sits one home run shy of 61 for the season, a number that would tie Roger Maris' Yankees and American League single season record.

A lot of sports fans have interest in this pursuit, and the folks at ESPN/ABC are very aware of this fact.

So whenever Judge came to bat on Saturday afternoon against the Boston Red Sox, they decided to provide split screen coverage of his at-bats and the college football games that were currently taking place on the networks (Clemson and Wake Forest on ABC; Missouri and Auburn on ESPN).

This did not sit well with college football fans trying to watch their favorite team's -- or any team, really -- play.

Like I really don't think there's some Yankees fan out there torn between the Yankees game and the Wake/Clemson game.
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 24, 2022

Cannot think of any sports thing that college football fans, on average, would care about less than Aaron Judge’s home run count
— Amanda Mull (@amandamull) September 24, 2022

I’m sick of it. Watching the Clemson-Wake game and multiple huge plays have unfolded on a split screen while baseball commentators speak. It’s annoying. Let me watch my football in peace.
— Dustin (@dustinjkent) September 24, 2022

"Southern college football fans vs. Aaron Judge" is becoming a great rivalry. Right up there with "SNL viewers vs. Notre Dame when they play night games"
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) September 24, 2022

If anyone cared about watching every single Aaron Judge at bat, wouldn’t they be watching the Yankees game? No need to split screen college football for that
— Spencer Daughtry (@sdaughtry_) September 24, 2022

HOW ABOUT QUIT GOING SPLIT SCREEN..IF I WANTED TO WATCH AARON JUDGE HIT I WOULD BE WATCHING IT..
— TN-COUNTRYBOY31 (@DerickMynatt) September 24, 2022

It went on like this. Judge did not homer in his first two at-bats. There was also a small controversy about Friday's game as it was shown on Apple TV and the Yankees attempted to make a trade for the coverage. There was also a suggestion that the Yankees should have actually sat Judge for that game to ensure a wider viewing audience for his at-bats.

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