​Aaron Judge has not appeared in a game for the New York Yankees in more than a month, yet he still managed to spark controversy with a dig at the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday. The Yankees finally ended their slump at the plate, erupting for 12 runs and 14 hits in the series finale at Tropicana Field. Much of the damage came against Rays starter Drew Rasmussen, who was roughed up for six runs and seven hits over 2 1/3 innings.
All six of those runs came in the third inning, a frame in which Judge drew attention by mimicking the manager’s “pitching change” signal from the Yankees’ dugout. Tampa Bay fans did not respond warmly to Judge’s gesture. While he is currently dealing with an injury and did not contribute to the outcome of the game, Judge’s history against Rasmussen has been unfavorable, with a career OPS against the pitcher that has hovered around a meager .347. The Yankees’ broader slide in the standings only intensified the perception that Judge’s taunt was ill-timed, given the team’s current struggles and their deficit to the Rays.
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Judge is typically a reserved presence in the clubhouse, but he has occasionally crossed lines with playful taunts at opponents. A notable example was when he played “New York, New York” from the Boston Red Sox clubhouse during the 2018 ALDS, a moment often recalled as a cheeky jab amid heated rivalry.
For more MLB coverage, note that one former Red Sox icon, David Ortiz, has also taken playful digs at the Yankees in various settings, including social media interactions around events at Fenway Park, underscoring the ongoing, sometimes spicy, banter that colors baseball’s interleague dynamics.