“I think he was trying to purposely obstruct” - Brewers manager Pat Murphy takes a jibe on Aaron Judge’s controversial play at second base
Aaron Judge is coming off a night to remember as the New York Yankees defeated the Milwaukee Brewers by a 15-5 final score. Judge was the first to put the Yankees on the board with a crushing home run to left center field. However, his strong performance in this game will not be remembered.
Judge made a slide to second base as the Brewers were tied at 4-4 during the sixth inning. While sliding to stay safe, the Yankees captain had his hand up, which deflected the ball that Willy Adames threw. Judge's deflection prevented Alex Verdugo from getting out.
The Brew Crew seemed to be upset as the controversial play at second base was called unintentional. Brewers manager Par Murphy was unhappy about the decision as he believed that Judge was purposely trying to obstruct.
"If you guys replayed it, it's hard to say that he wasn't making an attempt at least purposely obstruct. I don't think he wanted to get hit by the ball, but I think he was trying to purposely obstruct," Murply said.
Murphy further said it was his opinion and he wasn't sure about Judge's intent. He stated that Judge seems like a wonderful man but is also competitive.
"It's my opinion, I don't know what his intent was. He seems like a wonderful man, but very competitive also," Murphy added.
Aaron Judge believes he's doing his job
Aaron Judge believes he's just doing his job getting to second base. The slugger also mentioned that it was natural for him to raise his hand like always.
“You can look back at any picture you want of me sliding into second base. That’s always happened,” Aaron Judge said.
While many believe his slide to second base was unintentional, some beg to differ. MLB umpire Andy Fletcher was one of the few who thought Judge's play should have been called for interference.
“On the field we got together and did the best we could to come up with a correct answer. After looking at it on replay, it appears that the call was missed. It was an unnatural part of his slide, Fletcher said”
When looking at some previous videos, it seems like a habit for Judge to raise his hand while sliding into second base. It all turned out well for the Bronx Bombers as they went on to win the series against the Brewers.