NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge’s first career ejection happened so quickly that he did not even see it.
Judge was ejected for the first time in his career when he briefly argued a called third strike by plate umpire Ryan Blakney in the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 5-3 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
With one out, Judge took a full count fastball from Tyler Holton that he thought was slightly outside. Blakney rang him up and Judge briefly glanced back.
After starting to walk back to the dugout, Judge returned to argue the call after being tossed by Blakney. Manager Aaron Boone came out of the dugout to discuss the ejection with Blakney and was not tossed.
“I didn’t even see myself get tossed," Judge said. "It was kind of the crowd reaction. I kind of assumed at that point.”
Boone said he was very surprised.
“Judge, he says very little usually very respectfully walking away," Boone said. "Come on man.”
Unlike the April 22 ejection of Boone by plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt, there was not any clear audio on the YES Network of the exchange.
Crew chief Alan Porter, who was the third-base umpire, spoke to a pool reporter and did not know exactly what was said by Judge, who declined to disclose what was said.
“Apparently Aaron did not agree with the pitch and said something that you shouldn’t have said and he was ejected,” Porter said. “We do what we can to keep guys in the game but said something he shouldn’t have said.”
Since Derek Jeter was never ejected in his 20-year career, Judge became the first Yankee captain to get tossed since Don Mattingly on May 13, 1994, in Milwaukee.
“I got a lot of respect for Ryan and what he does,” Judge said. “I know their job’s tough. I’ve always had their back because it’s tough back there. So for that to happen that way, that’s what I’m most upset about, especially late in the game like that.”
Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo said Judge was “obviously disappointed in the call," but he didn't think Judge was “showing up the umpire.”
“I thought that was pretty quick,” he said.
Judge hit a single and an RBI double in his first two at-bats. He is hitting .209 this season and stopped an 0-for-14 skid with a single to start New York’s winning rally in the ninth inning on Friday’s win.
After Judge was ejected, many in the crowd begin chanting profanely at Blakney.
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New York Yankees' Aaron Judge reacts after striking out in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone, left, and Aaron Judge (99) argue with home plate umpire Ryan Blakney, center, after Blakney ejected Judge from the game in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
Homeplate umpire Ryan Blakney, right, ejects New York Yankees' Aaron Judge, left, from the game in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Saturday, May 4, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
DALLAS (AP) — Former President Donald Trump is expected to address thousands of members of the National Rifle Association in Texas a day after campaigning in Minnesota in the midst of his hush money trial.
Trump has pledged to continue to defend the Second Amendment and has called himself “the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House” as the United States faces record numbers of deaths due to mass shootings. Last year ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths, making it one of the deadliest years on record.
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has been criticized by Democratic President Joe Biden, specifically for remarks that Trump made this year after a school shooting in Iowa. Trump called the incident “very terrible” only to later say that “we have to get over it. We have to move forward.”
Speaking Friday in Minnesota, Trump said: “You know, it’s an amazing thing. People that have guns, people that legitimately have guns, they love guns and they use guns for the right purpose, but they tend to vote very little and yet they have to vote for us. There’s nobody else to vote for because the Democrats want to take their guns away and they will take their guns away.”
He added, “That’s why I’m going to be talking to the NRA tomorrow to say, ‘You gotta get out and vote.’”
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement before Trump's NRA appearance that “at a time when guns are the number one cause of death for children and teens in America, Donald Trump is catering to the gun lobby and threatening to make the crisis worse if reelected.” She said she and Biden "will continue to take on the gun lobby to keep Americans safe, while Donald Trump will continue to sacrifice our kids’ and communities’ safety to keep these special interests happy.”
When Trump was president, there were moments when he pledged to strengthen gun laws. After a high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, that killed 17 people and wounded 17 others, Trump told survivors and family members that he would be “very strong on background checks.” He claimed he would stand up to the NRA but later he backpedaled, saying there was “not much political support.”
On Saturday, he is expected to give the keynote address as the powerful gun lobby holds a forum in Dallas. Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will also speak. Prominent gun safety groups that have endorsed Biden are planning to demonstrate near the convention center where the gun lobby plans to meet.
While Trump sees strong support in Texas, Democrats in the state think they have a chance to flip a Senate seat in November with U.S. Rep. Colin Allred leading an underdog campaign to unseat Republican Ted Cruz. No Democrat has won a statewide office in Texas in 30 years, the longest streak of its kind in the country.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 election at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
FILE - Former President Donald Trump speaks during the National Rifle Association Convention, April 14, 2023, in Indianapolis. Trump is expected to address thousands of members of the NRA in Texas Saturday, May 18, 2024, a day after campaigning in Minnesota in the midst of his hush money trial. Trump has pledged to continue to defend the Second Amendment and has called himself "the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House." (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Minnesota Republican Lincoln Reagan Dinner Friday, May 17, 2024, at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
