Aaron Judge's dismissive take on Heston Kjerstad nonsense should fuel Yankees-Orioles rivalry

To begin 2025, Aaron Judge has leveled up and added a .427 batting average to his arsenal, blowing away the competition in a prove-it season. And, on Wednesday night in Baltimore, he proved the strength of his laser focus, refusing to bow to petty nonsense while crushing the O's (who were looking to scrap) like a middle-middle fastball.

Last summer, young outfielder Heston Kjerstad and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde went wild when a wet baseball slipped from notoriously erratic closer Clay Holmes' hands. Clearly, their rage was intended as a rallying cry, as phony as they come; the O's lost the series, though they captured the finale in dramatic fashion when the entire Yankees defense fell over.

For whatever reason, Kjerstad was at it again on Wednesday (in a game Baltimore ultimately won by a run). This time, his justification for ignition was somehow even lamer.

Kjerstad took exception to Yankees infielder Pablo Reyes leaping for a high throw, then coming down (naturally) on his body as he slid. The youngster mouthed off to Reyes as Anthony Volpe giggled alongside the melee, and yes, both benches cleared perfunctorily.

After the game, Judge said what everyone who watched was thinking: "What, exactly, was all that?"

Yankees Captain Aaron Judge sends dismissive message to Orioles after extremely stupid bench clearing incident

Kjerstad ... did disrespect Reyes, I guess? It certainly was surprising to see any reaction other than "ow," which is pretty much the only thing there is to think when a guy falls on you from midair. Volpe's giggle-filled reaction still gets the No. 1 spot, but it's hard to argue with Judge's take. "Weird bench clearing" is right. Good to get out of Baltimore before anything extremely stupid festers.

In the end, the Yankees should feel somewhat embarrassed too, though. Judge hit the cover off the ball. The whole lineup dominated in the middle game, backing Carlos Rodón with 15 runs. And yet ... they still lost the series to a division rival/preseason favorite that's hanging out in last place. It was their job to bury Baltimore, and they didn't accomplish that mission.

Good on Judge for refocusing the team and not letting Kjerstad's oddness become too much of a distraction from the main goal.