Did Aaron Judge start a youth baseball team on the South Shore of Staten Island?
During the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, young players had the opportunity to meet MLB stars from the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees, including the 2022 American League MVP.
The problem was, South Shore manager Bob Laterza told the Staten Island Advanceis that Judge skipped the event altogether. And later, according to Laterza, Judge ignored calls from Little Leaguers during the Yankees’ 3-2 loss to the Tigers.
“How about you turn around and wave to New York and the kids who think you’re a hero?” Laterza told silive.com. “They’re the ones who pay your salary.
“They were disappointed,” he added. “Maybe he wants to make it up to them and come and see them.”
Judge signs autographs for fans as New York Yankees arrive at LLWS Complex
The Metro Region Champions from Staten Island, NY, participate in the opening ceremony
Aaron Judge, right, slides a foul ball under the net to a Puerto Rico team player
Judge was spotted signing autographs for fellow Little Leaguers in Williamsport on Sunday, where the Little League World Series continues this week. He even posed for a photo with a member of Staten Island’s team.
Laterza told SILive.com that his team had promised a meet-and-greet with Yankees players in their dorm room, but only struggling third baseman DJ LeMahieu (.194 average in 2024), reliever Tim Hill and a few others showed up.
Pitchers Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes, as well as promising young outfielder Jasson Dominguez, manager Aaron Boone and former Yankee Nick Swisher spent time with Staten Island players at Bowman Field on Sunday afternoon.
Cole threw some high passes to the players and reliever Tommy Kahnle also stopped by to greet the Staten Island players in the clip.
Staten Island (3-1) will play Lake Mary, Florida, in the double-elimination tournament on Tuesday night.
“We’re playing well. We’re going to win a game or two and shake them up a little bit,” the manager told silive.com. “After we win this, they’re not going to take pictures with us anymore. Only Aaron Boone and the guys that showed up!”
Yankees spokespeople did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment. Attempts to reach Judge’s agents were unsuccessful.