Judge, Boone respond to comments from personal hitting coach

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge has enough on his plate as he attempts to carry the Yankees out of a summer slide that has seen his club fall out of first place in the American League East, which is why the captain said on Friday that he has little interest in anything posted on Twitter/X.

Yet the social media site was a pregame topic of conversation after Richard Schenck, Judge’s personal hitting instructor, sent a reply during Thursday’s game that was critical of the Yankees’ player development.

In response to a message posted by the YES Network highlighting Judge’s statistics in Yankees victories, Schenck posted from his @Teacherman1986 account: “They’ve lost 13 out of 18 while he’s hitting like an MVP[.] The Yankees offensive player development is terrible.”

Judge said that he had not seen the message until a reporter showed it to him before Friday’s game.

“It doesn’t involve me, to be honest,” Judge said. “It’s somebody else making a comment. I’m not going to comment for somebody else. … I’ve got no control over what another person does. It’s out of my control. I’ve got nothing for you.”

Judge confirmed that he continues to work with Schenck “every two weeks.” Judge has credited Schenck, who is based in St. Peters, Mo., and is the owner/operator of a local billiards hall, with helping to tighten his swing in the 2016-17 offseason.

Schenck, who claims to have unlocked the secrets that made Barry Bonds’ swing mechanics so lethal, frequently travels to meet the Yankees at home or on the road. Judge and Schenck then work together in a batting cage away from the Major League stadium.

Some of Judge’s teammates, like Anthony Rizzo, have joined those sessions on occasion. To be clear, Schenck is not employed by the Yankees in any capacity.

It should also be noted that the Yankees’ lineup on Friday showcased four homegrown players: Judge, first baseman Ben Rice, catcher Austin Wells and shortstop Anthony Volpe.

Asked for his reaction to Schenck’s comment, Yankees manager Aaron Boone echoed Judge, saying that it was “out of your control.”

“People are going to say things, and certainly everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Boone said. “Especially when you go through a tough stretch and you wear this uniform, I know people are going to take shots and things like that.

“You can’t get all consumed with all that stuff. We’ve got enough to worry about, making sure we’re buttoned up and putting our best foot forward every day. So that’s the focus.”