Stephen A. Smith gets called out by Yankees player over Aaron Judge claims

A Yankees player has hit back at Stephen A. Smith over his claim that Aaron Judge’s batting average is mainly so high because Juan Soto bats before him in games. 

On Wednesday, Smith was asked who has had a more impressive season on ESPN, Judge or the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani. Judge leads the MLB Player Hitting Stats board with 51 home runs, while Ohtani is second with 42. 

”Judge has Juan Soto batting behind him so they can’t get around him… they’ve got to pitch to the brother because you have Soto waiting in the wings,’ Smith said on live TV. ‘So all those things facilitate Aaron Judge behind who he is.’ 

Not only did Smith – a self-proclaimed Yankees fan – get New York’s batting order wrong (Soto usually appears on home plate before Judge in second) but he also seemed to have annoyed one of the team’s infielders on social media.

‘Ohtani also has 2 mvps behind him so that’s irrelevant sir!! @stephenasmith,’ Jazz Chisholm Jr pointed out on X, referring to Mookie Betts coming up after Ohtani in the Dodgers’ batting order. However, Betts has only won one AL MPV award, not two.

Stephen A. Smith sparked outrage among baseball fans for a) claiming that Aaron Judge’s high batting average is because of Juan Soto and b) for getting the Yankees’ batting order wrong

Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr also hit back at Smith for suggesting that Judge is having a good season because of Soto

Baseball fans also called out Smith for being factually incorrect online.

‘Smith showing what he knows and what he thinks of baseball simultaneously,’ said a user on X. 

‘Chapter 500 on Stephen A not preparing for his job. Soto DOES NOT hit behind Judge LMFAOOOOO,’ someone else shared.

‘Judge hits after Soto?? And where was Soto when judge broke the AL home run record??’ another person wrote, referring to Judge’s 62-home run season, two years ago, which also broke the 61-year-old record held by Roger Maris. 

Chisholm joined the Yankees in July after being traded by the Miami Marlins (seen on Aug. 25)

Judge and his Yankees teammates will take on the St. Louis Cardinals as part of a three-game series starting on Friday. 

The Pinstripes lost two out of three matchups against the Washington Nationals this week. 

Judge has hit four home runs in his last seven games against the Nats’, Rockies and Guardians.