Yankees excoriate Staten Island coach over Aaron Judge Little League Classic criticisms
The Yankees pushed back hard against claims made by the coach of the Staten Island team playing in the Little League World Series who said the team — and Aaron Judge, in particular — didn’t give them enough attention on Sunday when the Yankees were in Williamsport for the Little League Classic to play the Tigers.
South Shore Little League coach Bob Laterza told silive.com that Judge didn’t interact with his players when they called to him from their seats during the Yankees’ loss to Detroit.
“How about turning around or wave to New York and the kids that think you’re a hero,’’ Laterza told the site before his Staten Island club was eliminated from the Little League World Series after suffering a 6-1 loss to Florida.
“They are the ones who pay your salary.”
It was a bizarre claim to make about Judge, who regularly greets fans, especially children, both on the road and in The Bronx.
The coach also complained that only DJ LeMahieu, Tim Hill and “a few others” attended a prearranged session with the Yankees and Gerrit Cole, Nestor Cortes, Jasson Dominguez and Aaron Boone spent time with the team at Bowman Field later in the afternoon.
Yankees personnel were livid with the allegations and in a statement released Tuesday, told a much different story of what happened after the Yankees landed in Pennsylvania Sunday morning after arriving from Detroit.
“Our entire roster spent the day in Williamsport connecting with as many Little Leaguers as they possibly could prior to our game, including the team from Staten Island,’’ the statement read.
“We commend all of our players for devoting their complete attention to the hundreds of kids who literally walked step-by-step alongside them from the moment the Yankees landed in Williamsport through the entirety of the evening. Our players were unequivocally committed to making the experience what it was intended to be – a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young baseball players and their families from around the world to have meaningful and genuine interaction with some of Major League Baseball’s greatest players.”
And the team called Judge, who posed for a group photo that included one Staten Island player before the game, “one of the great ambassadors of our sport.”
Sources said Judge and others were occupied signing autographs for Little League players throughout the afternoon after Staten Island won its game.
“Neither the Yankees nor our players organized the schedule on Sunday,’’ the statement read. “In fact, because Staten Island played on Sunday our players went out of their way to spend time with them in the moments immediately before our game with the Tigers.’’
Despite the shots taken at the Yankees by Laterza, the Yankees said the team will still be invited to Yankee Stadium following the Little League World Series.
“We wish Staten Island success in winning the championship,’’ the statement read.
