While New York Yankees star Aaron Judge is arguably playing on the level of Ted Williams and experiencing major success on the baseball diamond, there is some that have criticized him like Little League baseball coach Bob Laterza. As the Yankees face the Cleveland Guardians Thursday, they have fired back at the coach in what has been an interesting situation to say the least.
There was a statement released Wednesday that besides Judge being “one of the great ambassadors of our sport,” the roster was with little league teams in Williamsport, including one from Staten Island that Laterza has a part in. He would say that Judge was not involved in meeting with his team and even “ignored” them according to ESPN.
“How about turning around or [waving] to New York and the kids that think you're a hero,” Laterza said. “They are the ones who pay your salary.”
The Staten Island head coach who caused headlines amidst New York media outlets where in a Yankees statement fired back a subtle shot as while defending their star in Judge, said that Laterza can “learn a lot from him.”
“We wish Staten Island success in winning the championship,” the Yankees' statement said. “Win or lose, we intend to invite them to Yankee Stadium. However, it would have been much better if Staten Island's Coach called us to understand the facts before bitterly reacting in such a public fashion. Reaching out to us would have been the prudent way to act and would have set a fine example for his young players.
“Aaron Judge always acts with kindness and respect. The coach could learn a lot from him.”
Aaron Judge further defended by Yankees, also speaks himself
Yankees manager Aaron Boone would also defend Judge Wednesday as when asked about the comments from the Little League head coach, he said he was “not even going to dignify [Laterza's comments] with a response” and that “Aaron Judge is as good as it gets.” The team's statement would further talk about Judge being a “role model worth celebrating.”
“[Aaron Judge] is a role model worth celebrating — not simply because of his skills and accomplishments on the field — but because of the way he wholeheartedly embraces making a positive impact on those who look up to him,” the Yankees' statement said.
Judge himself was asked about the comments towards him where he initially did not want to give it the light of day since he said it's not about Laterza, but more about the Little Leaguers themselves.
“I got no response for that,” Judge said per ESPN. “I'm not going to give him a response because it's about the kids. This is what it's all about. We got a chance to spend a lot of time with quite a few kids in Williamsport, make some great memories. Had a great time at the game, you know, besides the loss. So I kind of want that to be the focus.
“I don't really want to put any weight into the comments. I play in front of 40,000 every single night and I get booed if I go 0-for-1, so I'm not willing to put any weight into that.”
New York is 74-53 before Thursday's finale which puts them first in the AL East.
Follow Us
Subscribe
