NEW YORK — Aaron Judge’s star power has eclipsed his home run power.
Evidence of this was provided by the overreaction to the Bunyanesque outfielder’s eighth-inning, side-eye glances toward the Yankees dugout, followed by a 462-foot home run in Toronto Monday night.
If this was Anthony Volpe, there would be no rush to judgment. Or debate if he was “cheating” in some form or fashion — like stealing signs or picking up on a pitcher tipping pitches, which has always been part of the game. But it was Judge. The face of the Yankees. The face of baseball.
If there is still any doubt why the Yankees had to re-sign him, there shouldn’t be now. Judge proved he can change the tone of a game and author a controversy in just a few eye blinks. And it’s a testament to his star power that Monday the SportsNet cameras in Toronto felt obligated to be in Judge’s face. The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network did not have the shot.
The Judge “controversy” erased the media focus on the Yankees’ poor start and injuries that have piled up. That’s what Judge’s star shine can do.
Outside of rampant speculation, while he was negotiating his contract, the spotlight has been kind to Judge. His image, not even nicked. So, when there’s an opportunity to put a crack in a superstar’s windshield, anxious commentators will throw rocks.
Yet Judge had his share of media defenders. On his side of the equation, there was passion too. From Harold Reynolds, who delivered a fiery monologue in support of Judge on MLB Network to John J. Filippelli, the YES Network’s president of production/programming.
Filippelli chided Toronto (TSN) voices Dan Shulman and Buck Martinez for, with no hard “evidence,” even suggesting Judge did anything wrong. During the sequence leading to Judge’s HR, TSN replayed the slugger shifting his eyes toward the dugout.
Martinez called it (Judge’s eye movements) “really, really unusual.”
Shulman said: “You don’t want to go throwing allegations around without knowing, but ...”
But? But what?
Filippelli said he likes the two Toronto voices but they “impugned” Judge’s “integrity and honor.” Filippelli: “I can’t even offer a good reason why they said it, especially with no evidence to back what they were insinuating.”
Obviously, by the nature of his job, Filippelli tilts Yankee. Still, it’s unusual for a TV executive to offer a public, on-the-record, pointed critique of another team’s voices. Nonetheless, Shulman left himself wide open for criticism, when he delivered an open-ended conclusion.
As for Judge, well, he said he had some “choice words” for the Toronto broadcasters, but felt it was better to “keep them off the record.” Remember when Judge had problems with YES cameras focusing on him in the dugout? After what went down in Toronto, Judge is going to get even more facetime.
For baseball’s biggest star, it’s becoming business as usual.
No coverage from ESPN?
While the Judge eye-flap was big, it did not reach the proportions predicted by some Gasbags — like WFAN’s Gregg Giannotti.
On Tuesday he proclaimed all ESPN “screaming shows” will be talking about it. Yet First Take, ESPN’s most successful “screaming” show, never mentioned it during the two-hour telecast.
ESPN is one of MLB’s national TV partners, but in terms of studio and debate shows, the network is addicted to the NBA and NFL.
