Sometimes it be ya own teammates…. pic.twitter.com/wqMnxz3kVK
— Cut4 (@Cut4) April 25, 2018
Aaron Judge’s excitement following a dominant New York Yankees win almost got the best of him as he narrowly avoided a celebratory jumping collision with Aaron Hicks.
Following a dominant win over the Minnesota Twins, the New York Yankees outfielders converged in shallow center field to celebrate together. In the process of that celebration, right-fielder Aaron Judge went to jump with center-fielder Aaron Hicks and then at the very last second refrained from jumping, sending Hicks into the air off balance and alone.
The internet was quick to jump on Judge for faking out his teammate. Outrage ensued. How could Judge be so disrespectful? What if Hicks had pulled his oblique during an off-balance landing? Why didn’t anybody try to jump with left fielder Brett Gardner?
Well after careful deliberation, I have discovered the answer.
Aaron Judge backed out of the jump at the last second because he realized his emotions had overcome him and he might accidentally bounce Hicks into next Tuesday.
While everybody assumed that Judge was playing a very public practical joke on his teammate, smart people saw him notice how high Hicks had jumped before Judge was ready. You know what Judge thinks of when he sees something too high?
Launch angle.
If Judge had jumped he would have made contact with Hicks at anywhere between 15-30 degrees, which is prime launch angles for home runs. In the five seconds between initiating the jump sequence and backing out of it, Judge calculated that if he left the ground with an exit velocity of 100-plus mph and made contact with Hicks at a 15-30 degree angle, the result would be a rip in the space-time continuum.
Einstein’s 9 and 3/4 law states that any baseball player thrown into the space-time continuum could resurface anywhere from three to seven days in the future. Don’t check the math on that. I promise it’s right.
So not only did Judge save his teammate from an accidental time travel experience, he saved his team from losing its center fielder for three to seven days. The cost of this heroic action? Two to three days of internet roasting for the outfield tandem. Seems like a small price to pay.
Good job Aaron Judge.
