Aaron Judge, the captain of the New York Yankees and reigning AL MVP, encountered an unusual scenario when he was booed by Yankees fans during a Spring Training match against the Baltimore Orioles.
Judge has been in the spotlight following his remarks about the World Baseball Classic atmosphere being superior to the World Series experience. The boos from fans did not sit well with Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay.
In a discussion with ESPN New York, Kay shared the reaction of MLB Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson to the incident.
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“Jackson’s a big fan of Judge… And he said, listen, everybody got booed,” Kay said. “I got booed. Jeter got booed, Mickey Mantle got booed … But Reggie said, ‘I have never, ever heard of anybody getting booed in spring training’.”
Kay criticized the Yankees fans for their treatment of the potential future Hall of Famer.
“What’s the purpose of booing a guy in spring training? What are you trying to accomplish? Trying to run him out of town? Of all the people in baseball, you’re going to boo Aaron Judge? Are you out of your minds?”
Yankees captain Aaron Judge is not bothered by criticism
The reigning AL MVP, following a challenging World Baseball Classic against Team Venezuela, remains unaffected by the spring criticism from fans.
“I see the bigger picture. I’ve got a job to do,” Judge said. “I’ve got things to do, so I’m not going to be bothered by criticism. If I was, I’d never accomplish what I want.”
Judge also outlined his objectives with the Yankees leading up to the 2026 season.
“There are so many things I’ve got to do,” Judge said. “I’ve got to lead this team. I’ve got to win the division. I’ve got to win a championship here.”
The Yankees star is anticipated to spearhead the offense and is expected to match his impressive numbers from the previous season.
Edited by Chaitanya Prakash
