Despite a magnificent offensive night on Tuesday, Aaron Judge wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
Instead of focusing on the positives of his 4-hit, 2-home run performance in a win against the Orioles in Baltimore, the slugger spent the postgame blasting the abnormally-long outfield at Camden Yards, which cost him the chance at a 3rd homer.
“It’s a travesty, man,” Judge told reporters after the game. “I’m pretty upset. It just looks like a Create-A-Park now.”
The controversial play came as the 2nd at bay of the game, when Judge sent a monster hit off Baltimore righty Spenser Watkins that bounced off the top of the 13-foot left field wall for an RBI double.
Baltimore has tweaked the dimensions of their ball field in the off-season, pushing the fence back nearly 27 feet, and slightly raising the barrier.
According to MLB Stats, the outfielder’s hit would have been a home run in any of the other 29 stadiums in the MLB.
“I knew it didn’t have a chance, but I was hoping for good old times’ sake tonight, it might get out,” Judge said.
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Manager Aaron Boone also spent time after the game taking jabs at the Baltimore ballpark.
“He got almost three [home runs], but build-your-own-park got him there,” he said.
Judge, for his part, spent the rest of the game successfully aiming towards the shorter right field fence.
“I learned my lesson and decided to go to right field after that,” he quipped.
The 30-year-old would go on to send a 91 mph fastball for a solo homer in the 3rd inning, followed by a 2nd long ball in the 5th inning.
Judge would go on to cap his stellar night with an 8th inning single. Tuesday’s contest marked Judge’s 3rd career game with 4 hits.
Despite missing out on his 3-home run game, Judge still leads the MLB with 14 long balls on the season. Fellow Yankees Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo join Judge in the top 5 with 10 each.
His outstanding season thus far comes as negotiations between the 30-year-old and the Yankees front office continue to discuss a contract extension for the slugger, who is set to hit free agency for the first time in his career after turning down a seven-year extension worth $213.5 million ($30.5 million per season).
General manager Brian Cashman told reporters earlier this month that the team would “no longer be discussing Judge’s contact predicament publicly. Still, Judge’s big bet on himself is looking like the right move — as evidenced by his prolific play as of late.
