At least one former Yankee was unenthused by Aaron Judge’s wandering-eyes controversy that blew up earlier this week in a game against the Blue Jays.
White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn — who joined New York at the trade deadline in 2018 and started nine games for the team before signing a three-year deal with the Rangers — appeared on former Chicago catcher A.J. Pierzynski’s “Foul Territory” podcast and was asked about the incident earlier in the week, when Judge was caught on camera peeking in the direction of the Yankees’ dugout before he blasted a home run to center field.
“If you catch a guy doing that, he’s catching one in the ribs, right?” Pierzynski asked Lynn on the show.
“That’s the only way to stop it, I think,” Lynn responded. “Unfortunately, everything has changed in the game. Everyone told me, ‘If you’re giving it and the first-base coach can get it, it’s on you.’ It’s like, no. Coaches and dugouts and things like that are out of it.
“If a guy’s on base and he sees your grip from second, that’s on you. I see that one, but when players that are not on the field or coaches that are not playing the game are involved, that’s where I think it’s too much.”
It still remains to be seen if anything that Judge did was below board.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone claimed that Judge had glanced towards the dugout because his teammates were “chirping” at the umpire, not because they were feeding him signs.
Jay Jackson, the Jays pitcher who gave up the home run in question, had thrown six straight sliders, while also admitting after the game that he was “kind of tipping pitches” – and if the Yankees’ first base coach was picking up on something involving his grip or cadence, it’s not illegal to translate that message to the batter.
Where it becomes illegal is if signs are communicated electronically, as the Astros were infamously caught doing in the late 2010s.
Still, no pitcher wants their signs stolen – and Lynn appeared willing to defend Jackson in the fraternity of hurlers.
“Everybody can do their homework, see things, all that, but if it is not your teammate and/or you in the box getting the tips, that’s where I draw the line,” Lynn said.