Inside The Pinstripes

New York Yankees Captain Aaron Judge Receives First Career Ejection

The Yankees' spiritual leader was tossed in the seventh inning by home plate umpire Ryan Blakney.

Joe Najarian

May 4, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) and manager
May 4, 2024; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) and manager / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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The New York Yankees defeated the Detroit Tigers 5-3 on Saturday afternoon, but had to play the last two innings without their captain.

For the first time in his career, Aaron Judge was thrown out of a game for arguing balls and strikes. It was the first time since Don Mattingly's ejection on May 13, 1994 that a Yankee captain was ejected from a game (Derek Jeter, who served as captain from 2003 to 2014, went his entire career without an ejection).

Ironically, for all the terrible low strike calls Judge had gotten in his career, the 3-2 pitch he got rung up on was a borderline call on the outside corner. The 32-year-old superstar briefly protested the call from home plate umpire Ryan Blakney, but relented and started walking back to the dugout. However, Blakney threw out Judge with his back turned, prompting Judge and manager Aaron Boone to come out of the dugout and argue to no avail. "You're not going to tell me that's bull****," Blakney replied.

"I was very surprised, especially coming late in the game," Judge said after the game regarding the ejection. "I've said a lot worse, and I usually try not to make a scene in situations like that. I've got a lot of respect for Ryan and what he does; I know their job's tough, and I've always had their backs because it's tough back there. For it to happen that way is what I'm most upset about."

"C'mon man... I didn't think it was warranted. Let's leave it at that," Boone said during his postgame presser.

"I thought [the ump] was being a little sensitive there," first baseman Anthony Rizzo said in an on-field interview with reporter Meredith Marakovits. "I'm sure he's going to say [the ump] is right because they're always right, but Judgey is obviously frustrated there because he's competing."

Trent Grisham would replace Judge in center field for the eighth and ninth innings. During those innings, Blakney's strike zone appeared to grow wider as he punched out Tiger batters Kerry Carpenter and Matt Vierling on pitches that were farther out of the strike zone than the pitch he called on Judge.

Despite missing their captain for the remainder of the game, long reliever Luke Weaver and closer Clay Holmes locked down a 5-3 win for the Bronx Bombers to secure a series victory over the Tigers. The Yankees will now go for a three-game sweep on Sunday, with Nestor Cortes Jr. throwing the first pitch at 1:35 PM Eastern.

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Joe Najarian

JOE NAJARIAN

Joe Najarian is a Rutgers University graduate from the Class of 2022. After an eight-month stint with Jersey Sporting News (JSN), covering Rutgers Football, Rutgers Basketball, and Rutgers Baseball, Najarian became a contributing writer on Inside the Pinstripes and Inside the Mets. He additionally writes on Giants Country, FanNation’s site for the New York Giants. Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeNajarian