Aaron Judge Robs Lindor in the ALDS: A Breakdown
What Happened
In a crucial ALDS matchup, the New York Yankees host the Cleveland Guardians at Yankee Stadium. In the bottom of the ninth inning, with the game tied 1-1, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge steps to the plate against Guardians pitcher Emmanuel Clase. Judge gets a good pitch to hit and makes solid contact, sending a deep fly ball to right-center field. Both Judge and Guardians shortstop Francisco Lindor give chase, realizing this could be a game-changing play. As the ball carries, the crowd at Yankee Stadium holds their breath in anticipation. Lindor reaches the warning track first, but Judge is right on his heels. In a spectacular display of athleticism, the 6'7" Judge leaps at the last second, fully extending his body to make the catch just shy of the wall. The crowd erupts in cheers as Judge secures the out, robbing Lindor of extra bases and potentially the go-ahead run. "Oh no, oh no," says the play-by-play announcer, as the tension builds. "And yes, very easily, Judge makes the grab!" The camera captures Judge's sheepish smile as he lands, clearly proud of the highlight-reel play he just made. In the slow-motion replay, viewers can see Judge effortlessly track the ball and time his jump perfectly, barely brushing the wall as he makes the catch. "Bobby Abreu would have crapped his pants at this point," the announcer remarks, emphasizing the degree of difficulty. The Yankee Stadium crowd goes wild, with one fan even jokingly throwing his glove onto the field in disbelief. "That little kid's not going to forget this," the announcer says, as the camera pans to a young fan, eyes wide with amazement at Judge's spectacular play. "Yep, just did that," Judge seems to say, his stoic expression belying the excitement of the moment. With the game still tied, this breathtaking catch by the Yankees' star outfielder sets the stage for a dramatic finish in this intense ALDS matchup.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentalright let's break down judges robbing
this catch it is pretty great the crowd
reaction judge's reaction everyone we
got to knock with a 1 1 millon door
makes a decent pitch he just puts good
one on it right here they both think
it's got they're like oh [ __ ] and then
like oh no and then it's like ok maybe
then we got let's see we got judge slow
stuff and we got Zack Hampel
high-stepping chairs who's gonna get
there first is it gonna stay in play and
yes very easily this is basically like
when you're a little kid at the park and
you got no one to play catch with so you
go stand near the outfield fence and
just throw yourself a little blue so
that you can rob and then you feel cool
that's at least this was for judge so go
yep barely had jump rips apart the
ground right here
whatever he even comes down with a
sheepish smile like yeah I mean that's
pretty easy for me they liked okay I'm
embarrassed yeah okay yeah I just did it
yeah okay alright shut up guys well
let's go slow-mo alright backing up
backing up doesn't even feel for the
wall Bobby Abreu would have [ __ ] his
pants at this point and then you got
foul ball guy coming in everyone's mad
at foul ball guy everyone hates this guy
look at his gloves behind the wall he's
doing is a good job look at these fans
this guy stoic as ever I this guy's
blowing my mind just stoic great job
here great job this little kid also no
react like his dad and his brother
scared as hell him it's like nah just
gonna watch this almost gonna hit my
face I don't care
awesome living this way who got it
sample it sucks you didn't get mad but I
mean it's amazing that you're there it's
like utterly impossible you're at every
single thing we got Severino and I don't
know if this is real mind watching over
here everyone wanted a great job by the
fans all around to not get involved and
then Zach handball turns under statue Oh
No sucks for you this lady just ecstatic
this dude save water drink beer ecstatic
this dudes like brow wow my favorite
though look at this little kid eyes
right here look at him line up this gave
me chills like dad that kid is not gonna
forget this look how excited that get is
this guy's looking off everyone is just
so pumped just like yeesh yep just did
that ooh boy that's gonna be a big play
in the game
yikes [ __ ] awesome