Blue Jays and Yankees get testy in Toronto after side-eye controversy

The Toronto Blue Jays-New York Yankees inter-divisional rivalry has added an extra layer of intrigue to its recent tumultuous history.

Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees were the talk of the town on Tuesday after the side-eye seen around the world. And now that both parties responded, neither were happy about what transpired on Monday night.

“I’m not happy about it,” Judge told Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. “But people can say what they want. I’ve still got a game to play. I’ve got things to do.”

Blue Jays broadcasters Buck Martinez and Dan Schulman picked up on something odd during Judge’s at bats, but didn’t insinuate any wrongdoing. They noticed Judge staring off to the side before the pitch was delivered.

Judge didn’t take too kindly to suggestions that something fishy was going on during his at bats. When asked what he was looking at, the Yankees outfielder said he was looking into his own dugout to see who was chirping the Blue Jays.

Toronto fans wasted no time in greeting Judge with a chorus of boos Tuesday during his first plate appearance of the game after the side-eye controversy.

The boos rain down at Rogers Centre as Aaron Judge steps in for his first at-bat. 👀 pic.twitter.com/tQ4WHaK4mI

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 16, 2023

And then the Blue Jays bench got into it with Yankees third base coach Luis Rojas, arguing that was positioned outside the third base box. Manager John Schneider also had some choice words for either the umpires or the Yankees coaching staff.

Both Blue Jays coaches appeared to be arguing that Yankees staff were outside the box, a rule that’s rarely enforced in MLB. Almost every team “breaks” this rule every single game, but the Blue Jays took exception to it this time around for some reason.

Blue Jays manager John Schneider was yelling at Yankees' third base coach Luis Rojas for leaving the coaches box. He also yelled "shut up fat boy" to someone on the Yankees side pic.twitter.com/MUUzhxzwND

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 16, 2023

Then when you thought the drama couldn’t get any more intriguing, Yankees starter Domingo German was ejected from the game in the fourth inning after umpires checked him for foreign substances.

TV cameras caught this glimpse of some sort of substance on German’s uniform, which is a big no-no and grounds for immediate ejection.

I have no idea how he got caught. pic.twitter.com/IVpRwh7V2X

— Jared Carrabis (@Jared_Carrabis) May 17, 2023

After this four-game set in Toronto, it’s hard to believe the Blue Jays and Yankees won’t face each other again until mid-September. But both teams are getting their money’s worth in this series so far with no lack of beef.

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