HAND OUTS
‘It’s a big relief’ admits Aaron Judge as New York Yankees star provides update on injury fans say was ‘on purpose’
Judge has emerged as an AL MVP candidate after posting phenomenal stats
AARON Judge has escaped serious injury following a scary moment during Tuesday's ballgame at Yankees Stadium.
The New York Yankees slugger was hit on the hand by a fastball during a match-up with the Baltimore Orioles.
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Judge was struck on the left hand by a 94 mph pitch from Orioles starter Albert Suarez.
Clearly in pain, the 32-year-old made his way to first base and completed the third inning before heading to the Yankees locker room.
"I wanted to hit. I was down in the cage trying to swing but really couldn't at the time," Judge told ESPN.
Judge left the game and immediately headed to the hospital.
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X-rays and a CT scan revealed no fracture, much to the relief of the Yankees organization.
"Any time you get hit by 94, 95 up and in like that, especially on the hand where there are so many small bones and ligaments, and stuff like that, you just never know what's going to happen or what it's going to be," Judge continued.
"So, getting that good news is a good thing.
"Big relief, just being hit there before, a couple of years ago, and breaking my wrist, you never know what's going to happen.
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"So, finding out that it's not fractured, not broken, is a sigh of relief."
Judge has been in phenomenal form since the beginning of May and has become a leading AL MVP candidate.
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He is hitting .302 this season and has crashed 26 home runs, four ahead of anyone else in the AL.
Yankees fans were relieved to see their captain return from the hospital with positive news.
But others were critical of Suarez's pitch, which followed another up-and-in moments before.
"Intentional up and in, Yankees need to do the same to Rutschman or not a championship team. You can't have your star captain being thrown at and not retaliate," fumed one fan on X in response to the footage.
"Accidentally on purpose," said another.
Five key MLB rule changes in 2024
1. The pitch clock is reduced from 20 to 18 seconds with runners on base. It will remain at 15 seconds with bases empty.
2. When a pitching change is made, the innings timer will reset to 2:00 rather than 2:15 like it did last year.
3. Teams will only be allowed four mound visits per game in 2024, down from five last season.
4. Fielders and defenders blocking bases will be called for obstruction.
5. The runners' lane from home plate to first base has been widened to include the dirt between the grass and the white line.
"I don’t think I can stress how important this is to me," wrote a third after confirmation Judge had escaped serious injury.
"At the end of the day, we don't take what happened lightly," Yankees left fielder Alex Verdugo added.
"Obviously [Judge] it's a big one for us, so none of us are too pleased about it.
"At the same time, I don't believe it was intentional. It was just one of those things where a couple of pitches got away from their guys.
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"It's one of those things after you hit somebody, if you can't go in, don't go in that way. It's just one of those things. We'll see what happens."
The Yankees went on to win the first of a three-game series with the Orioles 4-2, improving to 51-24 on the year.