Ex-Yankees pitcher claps back at Athletics’ Tyler Ferguson after callout to Aaron Judge falls flat

Pitching to Aaron Judge is one of the hardest things in MLB and Athletics pitcher Tyler Ferguson found it the hard way against the New York Yankees on Sunday.

The A's reliever had said he wanted to strike out the Yankees superstar at the end of last season. However, it didn't end well for the veteran closer when he faced the reigning American League MVP for the first time since making that comment.

Aaron Judge pounced on a 95.5 mph four-seam fastball from the closer, sending it deep for a 426-foot home run, his second of the game. Former Yankees pitcher Jeff Nelson called out Ferguson for his comment after the game.

“That’s why you don’t talk in public,” Nelson said on the YES Network. “You don’t make a comment that I want to strike out Judge in public. You keep it to yourself.”

Tyler Ferguson is no stranger to Aaron Judge's hitting prowess as he graduated from Fresno State during the slugger's sophomore season in 2012.

"I didn’t go to a lot of Fresno State games, but I just remember him being a highly touted prospect and obviously a large human being very recognizable,” Ferguson said, “but it’s impressive how he’s continued to just get better and better as he’s gotten older.”

Tyler Ferguson hails Aaron Judge after home run surge against Athletics

Following the game, Ferguson acknowledged the two-time AL MVP as the best hitter in league.

“Best hitter in the league,” Ferguson said. “So I was looking forward to that at-bat. I was able to get ahead and then wasn’t able to execute a couple of pitches and he was able to get it back to 3-2 and I didn’t get the ball quite as high as I would have liked and he made a good swing on it.”

Aaron Judge's two home run game helped the Yankees to a 12-5 win against the Athletics in the series finale. His two home runs took his tally to 30 for the season, only bettered by Cal Raleigh, who has 32 dingers this season.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash