Judge finally lights up in October; MLB immediately investigates
Yankees captain faces two-year ban after officials discover the only thing he’s making consistent contact with is an unfiltered Camel.
NEW YORK — Aaron Judge’s postseason took another unexpected turn Wednesday after the Yankees captain was spotted smoking unfiltered Camels in the dugout, reportedly telling investigators, “I needed something in my hands that wasn’t going to disappoint everybody.”
Manager Aaron Boone initially defended the decision.
“We’ve been asking him to show some fire,” Boone said. “Obviously there’s been a communication issue.”
MLB announced a potential two-year suspension, prompting Judge to ask whether the ban covered October.
“If it’s just October, I feel like I’ve already served some of that,” he said.
The Yankees immediately appealed, arguing that Judge had technically been smoking in the designated hitter area.
Officials rejected that interpretation.
Meanwhile, Judge insisted the cigarettes would not interfere with his planned move to the mound.
“They said I needed to work on my delivery,” he explained. “These come in a carton.”
At press time, the opposing catcher had requested that Judge stop asking whether he could “bum a slider.”
