New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was seemingly robbed of his eighth home run of the season on Sunday afternoon during his team's 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. After the 32-year-old launched what looked to be a fair ball to deep left field in the top of the 8th inning, the umpire crew ruled the hit foul and, upon further review, upheld it.
Judge's manager, Aaron Boone, ripped the blown call after the game, calling it "remarkable" that they missed it. Judge himself—while bluntly summing up what had happened—decided to take a more measured approach.
"It was a fair ball," he told reporters. "It's just tough in a situation like this, in a Minor League park where the foul poles aren't that high."
For context, the Rays are playing at Tampa's George M. Steinbrenner Field this season due to damage at Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton. The park typically serves as the Yankees' spring training facility as well as the home to the Rays' Single-A affiliate, the Tampa Tarpons.
Aaron Judge on the HR that wasn't: "It was a fair ball. It's just tough in a situation like this, in a Minor League park where the foul poles aren't that high. ... They missed it and we've just got to move on."
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) April 20, 2025
"They missed it and we're just got to move on," Judge said.
With their win on Sunday, New York moved to 14-8 on the season as they sit in first place in the American League East. They're now headed to Cleveland on Monday to take on the Guardians, with first pitch from Progressive Field set for 6:10 p.m.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Aaron Judge Flatly Summed Up Umpire's 'Missed' Call on Would-Be Home Run.
