Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jay Jackson was tipping his pitches Monday night when he surrendered a home run to New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, he confirmed to The Athletic. Judge was seen glancing to his right during the at-bat, and the Blue Jays made it clear they believe Judge was looking over to receive some sort of information prior to the pitch.
"It's kind of odd that a hitter would be looking in that direction," Blue Jays manager John Schneider told MLB.com. "He's obviously looking in that direction for a reason. I think we'll dive into that a little bit more tonight and tomorrow, and make sure that we're doing everything we can to not make ourselves susceptible to tendencies, locations, pitches or anything like that."
Jackson, who was optioned to Triple-A following Monday's game, told The Athletic he raised his hands up to his head prior to each pitch, which could have allowed Yankees first base coach Travis Chapman to see his grip. Chapman could have then relayed the incoming pitch type to Judge with some sort of a visual signal. Jackson also said his pace was an issue. From The Athletic:
"From what I was told, I was kind of tipping the pitch," said Jackson, who after striking out the first two batters in the eighth inning threw Judge six straight sliders, the final one on 3-2. "It was (less) my grip when I was coming behind my ear. It was the time it was taking me from my set position, from my glove coming from my head to my hip. On fastballs, I was kind of doing it quicker than on sliders. They were kind of picking up on it."
Jackson threw eight fastballs and 13 sliders in his inning of work, and all six pitches to Judge were sliders. The sixth slider was an 84 mph hanger Judge hit for a 462-foot home run, his second homer of the game. Following the game, Judge said he looked to his right to see who was chirping in the team's dugout after manager Aaron Boone had been ejected.
"There was a lot of chirping from our dugout, which I didn't really like in a situation where it's a 6-0 game and Boonie got tossed," Judge told MLB.com. "I was trying to save Boonie by calling timeout, like, 'Hey, hold up here. Let me work here.' I was kind of trying to see who was chirping in the dugout; it's 6-0 and Boonie got tossed. Let's just go to work."
There is a big difference between picking up on a pitcher who is tipping his pitches and using electronic equipment to steal signs like the 2017 Houston Astros. Players or coaches picking up on a pitcher's tell and relaying that information to the hitter is fair game. That falls under usual baseball gamesmanship, which appears to be what happened with Jackson on Monday.
The Blue Jays were not happy Chapman and Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas were stationed well outside the coach's box and it spilled over into Tuesday's game, when the Toronto dugout and Rojas exchanged words. For what it's worth, coaches rarely stay in the coach's box. That roam around outside the coach's box throughout the game to get the best vantage point.
"It's tired. I hope not," Boone said Tuesday when asked whether the coach's box shenanigans will continue in the final two games of the series. "It's just silliness. It's silliness. It's ridiculous. I think everyone -- I hope on both sides -- realizes this."
Judge hit the game-winning home run in the eighth inning of Tuesday's game and has three home runs in the first two games of this eventful four-game series at Rogers Centre. In addition to Judge's glance and the coach's box issues, Yankees righty Domingo Germán was ejected from Tuesday's game after being caught with a foreign substance.
