Yankees' Aaron Judge not ready to move on from Astros scandal
The Yankees' Aaron Judge speaking out about the cheating issue with the Houston Astros at a press conference during spring training in Tampa, FL on Tuesday Feb. 18, 2020. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
TAMPA, Fla. — Aaron Judge isn’t ready to put the Astros’ scandal behind him.
Mostly because he doesn’t want to.
Maybe someday Judge will no longer be sickened by the thought of the Astros cheating their way to the 2017 championship, or Jose Altuve using his team’s hi-tech thievery to swipe that year’s MVP trophy from him.
But Judge isn’t anywhere close to that day yet. And we wouldn’t count on him getting there by the time the Yankees visit Minute Maid Park on May 15. Or even four months later, when the Astros finally travel to what should be a very hostile Bronx on Sept. 21 for a four-game series.
It’s entirely possible Judge never lets this go, and he’s fine with that, too. Despite being one of the most thoughtful, measured voices in the game, Judge had no problem venting his frustration Tuesday after the Yankees’ first full-squad workout at Steinbrenner Field.
“I could sit up here and lie to you and say forget about it and move on,” Judge said. “But it’s always going to be in the back of your head a little bit. You’re always going to think about it. You’re always going to have that bad taste in your mouth.”
Judge didn’t pull any punches, either. He stated unequivocally that the Astros should be stripped of their ’17 crown (“it wasn’t earned”) and they weren’t worthy of his respect. Judge also suspects the Astros kept cheating through 2019 as well. But his outrage wasn’t limited to merely the pinstriped ramifications. On a larger scale, Judge was offended by the sheer injustice of it all.
“It didn’t only affect us as the Yankees,” he said. “It affected the fans of the game, and the guys that lost their jobs because of it, the guys that went into Houston and got beat up up a little bit and never made it back to the big leagues. I really can’t tolerate that — the guys who go in there and play fair and square and get beat up and now they’re out of a job because of it. That ain’t right.”
Judge spent a great deal of time during his nearly 20-minute news conference railing against the principle of what the Astros did as much as their ill-gotten gains because of it. In his mind, what’s done is done. But Judge, as someone who grew up loving baseball himself, can’t forgive the damage Houston did to the integrity of the game and how its growth may have been stunted as a result.
That part continues to stick with Judge. Even after the Grapefruit League kicks off later this week, and the regular season gets underway, you just can’t erase the Astros’ permanent stain on the sport.
“I really don’t have a true answer on when the game’s gonna get over it,” Judge said. “Because as you know, wherever [the Astros] go, they’re gonna hear it. And even away from the field, it’s gonna be tough for them.
“That’s the thing, we’re all role models no matter what. And we gotta make the right decisions, because we got kids watching us, we got other peers watching us, watching every single move we make. And if you try to cheat the rules or do something wrong, man, it’s gonna come out eventually. It always does. The truth always comes out.”
Judge added a message to the kids about “doing the right thing” and “playing fair,” things that tend to get bulldozed when millions of dollars are at stake. It also didn’t sit well with Judge that the players escaped punishment, a sentiment that has been voiced throughout baseball in recent days, with much of the criticism redirected at commissioner Rob Manfred.
Manfred believes that the public shaming should factor in to the Astros lack of discipline and the commissioner already has met with managers to head off any potential vigilante justice by opposing teams. But we’re not so sure his peacekeeping efforts are going to work. While Manfred has pledged to implement new penalties for on-field retribution, that’s not going to deter everyone’s thirst for revenge.
Including Judge, who didn’t sound as if he’s in a turn-the-other-cheek mood these days. He’s among those who believe the Astros skated on these crimes, and the normally even-keel Judge isn’t going to be told how to handle this by the commissioner.
Maybe he didn’t go as far as the Braves’ Nick Markakis, who said Tuesday, “I feel every single guy over there deserves a beating.” But Judge was clear on his preferred method of settling the score.
“In my eyes, the game has always policed itself,” Judge said. “I think it will continue to do that.”
Maybe then Judge can move on. Just not yet.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
