‘Stick to Basketball’: Stephen A Smith Told to Stay Away From MLB by Fans After Embarrassing Aaron Judge-Juan Soto Mix-Up

Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and the New York Yankees were all discussed on ESPN's First Take on Wednesday morning, with Stephen A. Smith significantly downplaying Judge's outstanding 2024 season.

By Blesson Daniel

Published on Aug 29, 2024 | 09:59 PM IST | 36.7K

Stephen A Smith & Aaron Judge [Credit-X]

Stephen A. Smith seldom discusses baseball on his shows, and that's because it's not his strong suit. His comments on Wednesday revealed that baseball remains a difficult issue for the ESPN presenter.

Smith appeared on ESPN's "First Take" broadcast Wednesday with Chris Russo, a baseball fan. The two argued whether Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge was having a better season.

Smith argued against Judge, claiming that Juan Soto's lineup protection had contributed to the slugger's performance with the New York Yankees this season.

“But you do got Juan Soto batting behind you. They can’t get around you a little bit. They gotta pitch to the brother, because you’ve got Soto waiting in the wings. So all of those things facilitate Aaron Judge being who he is,” Smith said on the show.

There is simply one (major) issue with Smith's argument: it is entirely inaccurate. Soto strikes in front of Judge, not the other way around.

One might argue that Soto's season-high 1.019 OPS is due in part to Judge's protection. Soto has never batted behind Judge this season. You may view Smith's statements if you don't believe them.

Smith did not question Judge's excellence or the historic season he is having, but he brazenly argued that the presence of Soto in the lineup was boosting his stats.

Smith, who professes to be a fan of the franchise, said that having Soto bat behind Judge was largely responsible for the former's breakout season, seemingly unaware that the Yankees really bat Soto in the No. 2 slot, one spot ahead of Judge in the order.

In actuality, Judge has hit third in New York's order for all 131 games this season. Soto has hit second in all 129 appearances.

Smith's reasoning was swiftly mocked on social media by MLB and Yankees fans alike, who pointed out how wrong his words were.

Also Read: Anthony Edwards Gets THIS Advice from Stephen A Smith After Magic Johnson’s Remark; DETAILS Inside

This first fan on his X wrote, “Stephen A talking baseball when we ALL know he doesn’t watch any games is my favorite bit in all of sports”

This second fan wrote, “Stephen A has got a point kinda.. I don’t think it’s to discredit Judge but to make sense of why pitchers would keep throwing to him”

This third fan asked Smith that he should ‘Stick to basketball Stephen A.’

This fourth fan called Smith a ‘clown’ as he wrote, “I don’t think there’s been a single game this season when Soto hit behind Judge. SAS is an absolute clown”

This fifth fan also like the third asked Stephen A. to stick to ‘basketball’. The Yankee fan wrote, “That's referred to as baseball strategy. That's what a coach is expected to do to enable players to increase their productivity. He needs to stick with basketball“