No player ever enjoys getting hit by a pitch. Some just brush it off while others hold a grudge for their opponent throwing up and in. New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge seems to be leaning toward holding a grudge against the Baltimore Orioles after he was hit by a pitch in the hand during Tuesday's game.
Judge exited the game but received good news with the negative x-rays afterward. He then shed some negative light toward the Orioles who are chasing the Yankees in the AL East standings.
He was not happy getting hit and expressed such a tone.
“Definitely pissed,” Judge said, per Bradley Locker. “There was a couple balls up and in. It’s part of it. They like to throw in.”
Before he left the game, Judge was able to record a hit and score, continuing his hot stretch at the plate. Judge is hitting over .400 in June and has a 1.389 OPS in the month.
Judge's teammates came to his defense as well. They don’t like seeing their best player get thrown at.
“Our captain got hit. We don’t take what happened lightly,” outfielder Alex Verdugo said. “We’re none too pleased about it.”
The Yankees responded the best way a team can when their star is forced out after a hit by pitch, they won the game. It will be interesting to see how the rest of this series and future matchups between the Yanks and Orioles go.
Yankees remain ahead in AL East
It would have been foolish to think the Yankees season could go like this after how it unfolded in 2023. There are stark differences between the two, most notably where New York ranks in the American League East standings.
At this time last year the Yankees were in third place, nine and a half games out of first. On June 19 of this year, the Yanks have the best record in baseball and lead the division by two and a half games.
Starting off this Orioles series on the right foot was much needed after slipping against the Boston Red Sox over the weekend. New York is now 4-0 in series openers following a series loss.
The Yankees typically have brutal injury luck but they've danced around that this season. They've still had to navigate without ace Gerrit Cole and a few other short-term injuries here and there, but New York is doing well in terms of staying healthy.
The Yanks dodged a bullet with Judge's prognosis. A fracture would have meant at least six weeks off which could have posed a threat to New York's chances at the top seed in the Ameircan League. Mookie Betts unfortunately was dealt that hand last week.
Aaron Judge is unsure how much time he'll miss but he and the Yankees seem to have avoided the worst case scenario. New York will feel Judge's absence in its lineup regardless of the length of time he misses.
How this hit by pitch impacts the Yankees and Aaron Judge over the next week or so might not carry a ton of weight on the season. It might be worth keeping an eye on this time next week if no clear updates are given.
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