Aaron Judge

Was Yankees Slugger Aaron Judge Cheating Vs. Blue Jays?

Aaron Judge’s glances toward the Yankees dugout on Monday night have fans confused. Here’s what Judge was actually doing

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While Aaron Judge’s home runs at Rogers Centre on Monday night did not come as much of a surprise – what the New York Yankees slugger did before his second hit out of the park has sparked much controversy in Toronto.

Judge was at bat with Jay Jackson on the mound and the Yankees leading the Blue Jays 6-0 when he gave the New York dugout a certain look

On Jackson's 3-2 pitch, Judge blasted a 462-foot home run to give the Yankees a 7-0 lead. 

But was Judge cheating?

Blue Jays broadcaster and former catcher Bruce Martinez called the glance, which happened twice, "really, really unusual."

He even questioned if the 31-year-old was taking a look behind the plate, hoping to steal a sign. 

"He's looking at something, and then the next move is that powerful swing, and he blasts one to centerfield," Martinez said. "I've not seen that before with him. I've not ever seen that."

Dan Shulman, another broadcaster calling the game, contemplated if Judge could guess the upcoming pitch based on Alejandro Kirk's positioning behind the plate.

After the game, fans got their answers. 

Judge said there was a lot of "chirping" going on in the dugout, which he found inappropriate considering manager Aaron Boone had been ejected from the game. 

"I was kinda — a lot of chirping from our dugout which I really didn't like in the situation where it's a 6-0 nothing game," Judge said. "I know Boone got tossed. I was trying to save Boone by calling a timeout, like, 'Hey, hold up here. Let me work here.' So I was kind of trying to see who was chirping in the dugout. Like it's 6-0, Boone got tossed, let's go to work."

Judge added that he spoke to some players after the game and hopes the behavior won't repeat itself.

The Yankees (24-19) return to play against the Blue Jays (24-17) on Tuesday at 7:07 p.m. ET.

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