Aaron Judge calling out Yankees fans for Trent Grisham treatment had instant effect

Whether New York Yankees fans were being intentional or not when they were chanting "We Want Soto" during Trent Grisham's at-bat on Sunday Night Baseball, it's clear Captain Aaron Judge saw it as unacceptable.

When asked about it in the postgame, Judge said he "wasn't too happy" about it and talked about how hard Grisham works on a daily basis to contribute to the best team in MLB. Plus, it's not even Grisham's fault! He barely plays and Soto was injured. There was no scenario in which Grisham was taking at-bats away from Soto.

Fans have taken the easy route, pointing to Grisham's .094 batting average and .522 OPS. But what's a guy to do when he only has 67 plate appearances on the season? At this point, that's an average of one per game. Nobody can find success with such infrequent playing time.

But Grisham responded by smacking the game-winning three-run homer as fans continued the Soto chants, and then Grisham was rewarded with "We Want Grisham!" chants in his next-at bat. It came full-circle in a nice manner.

Some fans might've been miffed by Judge's comments. After all, the fans just love Soto. He's the best. Of course they want him over almost anybody. It's not a direct insult to Grisham. But Judge is the Captain. If he senses disrespect, it's his job to relay that as the man in charge. And he did.

Aaron Judge calling out Yankees fans for Trent Grisham treatment had instant effect

Not only did Grisham's response lead to a win, but Judge setting the tone before Monday's game against the Kansas City Royals had the same effect.

The Yankees went with what fans deemed as a "punt lineup." Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo didn't play. Grisham, Jahmai Jones and Oswaldo Cabrera got the starts in center field, right field and third base (with DJ LeMahieu at first).

The result was a 4-2 win. Michael Tonkin got his second career save. Grisham might've gone 0-for-3, but his bunt attempt in the fourth led to a controversial hit-by-pitch, which extended the inning and led to two more Yankees runs. The team laid down three sacrifice bunts. Jose Trevino drove in two runs. This group had more baserunners on the night than KC.

Is Grisham the most desired option? No. His offensive game has far too many flaws. But he wasn't brought in to light the world on fire with his bat.

He's here for his stellar defense that you never have to worry about. He's here for the occasional pop and the left-handedness in the batter's box. And the rest of the depth players offer much of the same — the correct fit to balance the rest of the personnel and, most importantly, vibes.

Judge belted a 436-foot homer of his own during Tuesday's win for good measure, too. He knows as long as he keeps doing that, he can say whatever he wants, and Yankees fans will listen.