Aaron Judge and Aaron Boone missed a fastball aimed at the Yankees, a fastball thrown by Judge’s own hitting coach.
Richard Schenck, an independent coach who worked with Judge for years, took aim at the organization during its recent downturn, saying on social media Thursday that “the offensive player development is terrible.”
The Yankees’ offense (and pitching) have struggled, losing 13 of 17 games heading into Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox in the Bronx, though the Yankees still started 19 games above .500.
Critics will pounce on a historic franchise with an astronomical payroll that is underperforming, but those critics will rarely include a confidant of the team’s best player.
The judge claimed ignorance of what his personal trainer had tweeted and then shrugged.
“I honestly don’t care what’s said on Twitter,” Judge said. “To be honest, it’s none of my business. It’s someone else making a comment. I’m not going to comment on someone else’s behalf.”
Judge still works with Schenck, a Missouri-based trainer, every two weeks, he said.
Schenck, known as “Teacherman,” began helping Judge with his swing during the 2016-17 offseason and took credit for the blossoming of one of the game’s best hitters.
The Yankees surrounded Judge with Juan Soto and a number of hitters who have struggled recently.
“They’ve lost 13 of their last 17 games while he’s hitting like an MVP,” Schenck wrote Thursday. “The Yankees’ offensive development is terrible.”
If he wanted to answer, Boone could have pointed to leadoff hitter Ben Rice, who has been hitting well since his debut, or championed the development of hitters like Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres.
Instead, the Yankees manager chalked it up to just one more in a series of shots.
“These are things that are out of your control,” Boone said. “People are going to say things, and certainly everybody’s entitled to their opinion. Especially when you’re going through a tough time and you’re wearing that uniform, I know people are going to get shot and things like that.”
“We can’t let all this get to us. We have enough to worry about already, we have to dress well and do our best every day.”
— Additional reporting by Greg Joyce
News Source : nypost.com
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