This story was excerpted from Bryan Hoch’s Yankees Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
This chippy, heated series between the Yankees and Blue Jays reminded me of a conversation earlier this spring with Kyle Higashioka.
For about 10 days, I quizzed everyone in the clubhouse about their favorite moment of Aaron Judge’s record-setting 62-homer season (shameless plug: it was part of the gathering process for my upcoming book, “62,” which hits stores in less than two months).
Several of Judge’s teammates pointed to his May 10 home run off Toronto’s Jordan Romano, which most agreed was absolutely a season highlight. It was Judge’s first career walk-off home run and a comeback from a two-run deficit making for a special night at Yankee Stadium ... but it was only homer No. 10.
So why was that one, head and shoulders, above the rest in their eyes?
“I feel like everybody just knew that it was going to happen,” Higashioka said. “I feel like we even knew what pitch it was going to be on. We were like, ‘If he hangs a slider here, he’s going to hit it really far.’ And then it happened, and it was just great. Second deck, he just crushed it. And we like beating the Blue Jays.”
That last part stuck with me; I can recall Higashioka’s grin when he said, “And we like beating the Blue Jays.” Remember, this chat took place long before this week’s theatrics north of the border, where there has been enough drama to greenlight an eight-episode miniseries.
We’ve seen Judge’s eyes darting toward the right, which was caught in high definition by the Sportsnet television cameras. The moment was replayed ad nauseum on every sports television show and sparked countless head-scratching conspiracy theories on social media.
“I really don’t see why it’s a story, to be honest,” Judge said. “But I guess if their broadcasters want to make a big deal about it, they can say anything they want.”
The Blue Jays responded by insisting that base coaches remain within the painted lines, wary that the Yankees were relaying pitch locations or types. This prompted a shouting match between Toronto manager John Schneider and the Bombers’ bench.
"It's just silliness," Aaron Boone said. "It's ridiculous, and I think everyone -- I hope on both sides -- realizes it."
Then there was Domingo Germán’s ejection and a subsequent 10-game suspension for bringing an extremely sticky pitching hand to the mound on Tuesday evening, and an admission by Jays pitcher Jay Jackson -- since demoted to Triple-A Buffalo -- that he indeed was tipping pitches when Judge blasted a 462-foot bomb off a slider on Monday.
That didn’t even include Ian Hamilton’s groin injury, having been pressed into relief duty after Germán was thumbed. So, yeah, there’s been a lot.
“This division in general, it kind of feels like the old school, when Boonie played and when I played,” said Brad Wilkerson, the Yankees’ assistant hitting coach and an eight-year big league veteran. “We’ve got to focus on what we have to do in our dugout with our guys. There’s a lot of great teams. We can’t let outside noise distract us.”
Wilkerson found himself in the crosshairs on Tuesday, when Schneider barked at the visiting dugout, appearing to yell, “Shut up, fat boy.” Once the players realized it was directed at Wilkerson, the comment prompted waves of good-natured ribbing within the Yankees traveling party. Wilkerson has returned fire, saying, “I let them know about it, too.”
“There’s been a little bit of everything,” Boone said. “We’ve certainly faced our challenges and our share of adversity, but I continue to be more and more proud of going at it with these guys every day. I love the way we’re competing and where our focus is. I expect that to remain the same.”