A Yankees fan really told Aaron Judge to bunt — with the bases loaded
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A Yankees fan really told Aaron Judge to bunt — with the bases loaded originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Aaron Judge received an unexpected request from a fan near the on-deck circle. The moment came in the seventh inning against the Kansas City Royals when Judge was getting ready to bat after Ben Rice.
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With bases loaded, the Royals had pushed their infielders deep. The fan suggested to Judge that he should bunt in this situation.
"Aaron, you have to bunt here. Hard bunt. Hard bunt here. They are not expecting it," the fan can be heard saying.
As cameras panned towards Judge, it didn't seem he was paying too much attention though.
This fan sitting next to the on-deck circle was telling Aaron Judge to bunt with the bases loaded pic.twitter.com/qQ9wvoxZ61
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) May 28, 2026
It was not a bad suggestion at all. A hard bunt would have ensured at least one runner would get home safely and given how deep the Royals' infielders were playing, even Judge would have made it back in time to first base.
Just moments after this pitch, Rice would single to right field, bringing home Ryan McMahon and Anthony Volpe. Paul Goldschmidt reached third.
Contrary to fans' request, Judge instead went for a sonic boom but was flied out to center field. Maybe he should have considered that fan request after all.
Nonetheless, the Yankees cruised to a shutout 7-0 win against the Royals at home. Gerrit Cole pitched 6.2 innings for just four hits while recording 10 strikeouts. McMahon went deep once while Rice drove in three runs.
MORE:Yankees' Aaron Judge is in unfamiliar territory in recent AL MVP ranking
Aaron Judge and bunting are about as rare a combination you'll find in MLB
Don't know about college, but Aaron Judge hasn't bunted even once in his professional career. His offensive value is so high that teams don't want the 6-foot-7, 280 lbs to do anything but swing for the fences.
His power is so magnificent that a bunt strategy looks unconventional for him. As Judge is known for hitting home runs and extra base hits, teams ask him to square the baseball up rather than just contact it.
Sacrificing him for a bunt is not going to happen and it seems even Judge has no liking to attempt a bunt despite the infield generally playing deep against him.