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Aaron Judge ‘not going to comment’ on coach’s Yankees critique

Aaron Judge and Aaron Boone fouled off fastballs aimed at the Yankees, fastballs thrown by Judge’s own hitting coach.

Independent coach Richard Schenck, who has worked with Judge for years, criticized the team’s recent slump, saying on social media Thursday that “offensive player development is awful.”

The Yankees’ offense (and pitching) had struggled, losing 13 of 17 games before Friday’s series opener against the Red Sox in the Bronx, but the Yankees still had a winning percentage of over .500 in 19 games.

Aaron Judge reacts after striking out swinging in the top of the first inning on Thursday. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Pundits will attack a storied franchise with a big underperforming payroll, but those critics rarely include the inner circle of the team’s best player.

Judge claimed he was unaware of what his coach tweeted, then essentially shrugged it off.

“Honestly, I don’t really care what’s said on Twitter,” Judge said. “Honestly, it has nothing to do with me. It’s just someone else commenting. I’m not going to comment for anyone else.”

Judge said he still practices with Schenk, his Missouri-based coach, every two weeks.

Schenck, known as “Teacher Man,” began working on Judge’s swing during the 2016-17 offseason and has credited himself with helping one of baseball’s best hitters break out.

Aaron Judge has worked with Richard Schenck for the past few years. Photo by Richard Schenck.

The Yankees surrounded Judge with Juan Soto and a number of other hitters who have struggled recently.

“They played 13 games. [17] “He’s hitting like an MVP,” Schenk said. Written on Thursday“The Yankees’ offensive player development is terrible.”

If Boone wanted to argue, he could have pointed to leadoff hitter Ben Rice’s strong debut or championed the development of hitters like Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells and Gleyber Torres.

Instead, the Yankees manager counted the shot as one in a series.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run in the seventh inning at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Corey Shipkin (NY Post)

“That’s something I can’t control,” Boone said. “People are going to say stuff and obviously everybody’s entitled to their opinion. I know that especially when you’re putting on this uniform in a tough situation, people are going to criticize and things like that.”

“You can’t let that get to you. Just making sure you’re prepared and doing your best every day is enough of a worry.”

—Additional reporting by Greg Joyce

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