Aaron Judge seemed to have gotten away with an interference penalty during the New York Yankees’ game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday.
Judge was sliding into second base when his hand made contact with Willy Adames’ throw to first. The play was considered accidental and did not result in a double play.
Following the game, crew chief Andy Fletcher told reporters that they made an incorrect call on the play.
“On the field we got together and did the best we could to come up with a correct answer,” Fletcher said, per Hogg. “After looking at it on replay, it appears that the call was missed. It was an unnatural part of his slide.”
Following the game, Brewers manager Pat Murphy criticized the call and said that while he doubts Judge intended to make contact with the throw, he believes that Judge did intend to “purposely obstruct” with the play.
The play occurred during the sixth inning, with Judge being the only runner on base and no outs having been recorded prior to the fielders choice. The score was tied 4-4, and New York would put up seven runs in the inning to build an 11-4 lead. The Yankees would go on to win the game 15-5.
While the rally could have occurred with the correct decision, starting the inning with a double play would have undoubtedly given the Brewers a momentum boost. Instead, New York established a lead that it would not relinquish before Milwaukee returned to the dugout.
The Yankees advanced to 19-10 with the win, while Milwaukee fell to 17-10.
