After two games in The Bronx, Myles Straw probably could teach a graduate-level class on booing.
The most hated Guardians player in the AL Division Series, Straw has been showered with jeers and taunts at the plate and in center field. Friday, however, Straw heard some Yankees fans turn that ire on one of their own. Aaron Judge, who slugged 62 home runs this season, was booed after his fourth strikeout of the afternoon.
“That’s crazy to me. I don’t think that should be a thing,” said Straw, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in the Guardians’ 4-2, 10-inning victory Friday, which evened the series. “That’s part of playing in New York — I feel like you’ve got to live up to expectations. You know, he’s human. He’s a big part of why they’re here today.
“I mean, I don’t know, I don’t agree with that. But … I don’t think that guy should ever get booed here.”
Judge, who will soon be a free-agent, went 0-for-5 in Game 2, and is 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts and a walk through the first two postseason games.
The unhappy smattering of boos descended upon Judge after reliever Trevor Stephan, a former Yankees prospect, struck him out on four pitches in the seventh inning.
“[Being booed has] happened many times through my career here,” said Judge, who also airmailed a throw home from right field trying to prevent the Guardians’ first run in the fourth inning. “There’s nothing I can do. I gotta play better, that’s what it comes down to.
“Didn’t do the job tonight, especially as the leadoff hitter — I got to get on base, I got to make something happen on the base paths. I didn’t do that tonight.”
Straw, who has been an enemy at Yankee Stadium since April, when he proclaimed the team had the “worst fan base on the planet,” said the taunts aimed at him were milder in Game 2 than Game 1.
“It definitely helps winning games,” said Straw, who climbed the left-field wall during an April 23 game to shout at fans who he said were heckling his injured teammate, Steven Kwan. “Kind of keeps them a little quieter.”
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