Apr 3, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Yankees pitcher Ian Hamilton against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Yankees Reliever Explains Stare Down with A's Jacob Wilson

Originally posted on Oakland Athletics on SI
By Jason Burke | Last updated Jun 29, 2025 8:00 AM ET

On Saturday the Athletics pulled off a comfortable 7-0 win over the New York Yankees in the Bronx, but the victory didn't come without some drama. In the seventh inning, with the score already 4-0 A's, Yankee reliever Ian Hamilton came into the game and gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless inning of work.

The final batter of the inning, rookie Jacob Wilson, hit a soft come-backer to the mound, which Hamilton scooped up and ran to first. As he was running, however, Hamilton stared at Wilson most of the way, which left pretty much everyone confused as to what was going on. As he was jogging in from right field, Aaron Judge stopped by first base and appeared to get the scoop from Wilson.

Yankees reliever Ian Hamilton had something to say after getting A’s rookie Jacob Wilson out

Aaron Judge tried to get the full story from Wilson pic.twitter.com/PWWTPl62Wh
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 28, 2025

After the game, Hamilton spoke with YES to explain what was going on from his perspective.

"I was having a bad inning, little emotional. Got the ball, and then kind of looked into him and told him to run. That was about it." When asked if Wilson had said anything to him to provoke that kind of a response, Hamilton said, "wasn't running out of the box. I was upset with the inning, and then that was that. Then he asked me what I said and I just walked off."

He definitely didn't seemed thrilled to be asked about his actions in that moment. On the year, Hamilton is 1-0 with a 3.77 ERA across 28 2/3 innings. In his last seven appearances he holds a 2.08 ERA.

The comments of the Jomboy Media post above are filled with Yankee fans siding with Wilson in this exchange. Some are saying it was wrong of Hamilton, while others argue that they don't claim him. One of those latter posts was from Mr. November (not the real Derek Jeter).

Wilson told the AP after the game, "It’s baseball and sometimes things get hot. It’s part of the game and no hard feelings."

This article first appeared on Oakland Athletics on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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