With the New York Yankees visiting the San Francisco Giants this weekend, Aaron Judge has been even more of a talking point than usual. The five-time all-star isn't the most popular figure in San Francisco after he turned down the Giants to remain with the Yankees two years ago.
San Francisco radio host Matthew Steinmetz may be the angriest Giants fan of them all, as he had harsh words for Judge on Friday, via Steiny & Guru.
“I've figured out why Aaron Judge didn't want to come to San Francisco… He's gutless,” Steinmetz said. “He didn't want the pressure of Barry Bonds' [shadow]!”
Fans immediately ridiculed the comment on X. @YanksSuperFan, for example, said “Seems like Steiny has some Roid Rage.”
@Corey14K even slandered the city itself, saying “No mlb player wants to live in San Francisco if given the choice. Every free agent they got signed very late because they had no other options.”
However, some fans sided with Steinway. @Blacklib1978 said “It’s to (too) hard to pad hitting stats at that stadium … hitters want a little league field.”
Users then came back with receipts after Judge's two homers on Friday night, to which he replied “Again not interested in 1-2 games … he don’t want to hit here 81 times a year every year … why he stayed in New York…Yankee stadium is more hitter friendly than oracle … don’t care if it’s middle of the pack league wide or not.”
Is Steinway onto something, or is he just saying crazy things for attention?
Steinway is simply salty that Judge stayed with the Yankees
There are hot takes, and then there are incorrect ones. With the intensity that he's used to from the New York media, it's unlikely that Judge was scared of the pressure that comes with wearing a Giants jersey. While Bonds was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with, the Yankees have a much longer list of legends for Judge to live up to.
Furthermore, Judge has written his name in the MLB history books without the use of steroids. While Bonds may have simply been using standard practice for the times, the facts are the facts. Judge has no reason to be intimidated by someone who used extra help.
Additionally, while the X user may have been correct that Yankee Stadium is more hitter-friendly than Oracle Park, it's unlikely that was a major factor in Judge's decision, either. The 2022 AL MVP was already a proven commodity up for a max contract, so he was getting paid regardless. He wouldn't have sacrificed any money by possibly hitting slightly fewer home runs on a larger field. Once this contract is up, he'll be near retirement, so it won't make a difference anyway.
Understandably, part of sports broadcasting is dramatizing the situation, as that's what sells to viewers. However, there's a difference between exaggeration and lying. A bald-faced lie may sometimes be believable, but it's never respectable. In this case, it wasn't even believable, so Steinmetz will have to go back to the drawing board.
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