New York Yankees: Aaron Judge removed from game because… turf

We finally know why New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone removed Aaron Judge yesterday.

This season, Aaron Judge has been on an absolute tear for the New York Yankees. This is precisely the reason why fans and even YES Network‘s announcers were baffled when the slugger was removed after homering in the bottom of the 5th inning.

The team just had Monday off and will be off again tomorrow before hosting the Boston Red Sox this weekend. Additionally, Mr. Judge himself got the day off just last week against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Does he really need this much rest to assure that he remains healthy? The answer is… he wasn’t necessarily being rested.

This still doesn’t sit well with fans either, though, because the next question naturally is…

Is Aaron Judge hurt?

While rounding second base after hitting that glorious home run, Judge appeared to grimace. This led me to reach out to baseball’s breakdown king, Jomboy himself. His answer speaks for itself.

So, after the Yankees finally put the nail in the coffin and defeated the Braves 9-6 yesterday, we waited for Aaron Boone‘s Zoom conference for some answers. As it turns out, Boone felt he had a little “leverage” and “wanted to be ‘smart’ with everyone” after playing on turf for four days.

That’s right! Turf.

Still, the fact that a 28-year-old slugger has to be handled so gently is rather troublesome. On one hand, you understand that Judge is arguably the most important player on the team and you want him around when it matters most. However, on the other hand, you have to wonder just how fragile his body must be.

Throughout his brief MLB career, Judge has spent time on the IL on three separate occasions. In all, he has missed significant time in both the 2018 and 2019 seasons. Hopefully, the team won’t lose him again.

At the same time, however, he can’t do damage if he’s not in the game to begin with. At some point, you have to take your chances.