New York Yankees slugger, and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge is a man of many talents. He can hit for power, he can steal bases, and he can make spectacular catches on defense. He also can make entire baseball organizations make changes to 61-year-old stadiums.
The Los Angeles Dodgers announced on Tuesday that they would be making some upgrades to the visiting bullpen gate after Judge crashed into it at full speed during the Yankees 6-3 victory over the Boys in Blue at Dodger Stadium on Saturday.
"He didn't go through the door, which is what I thought happened when I was watching the game," said Dodgers team president Stan Kasten in an exclusive interview with Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. "Then I got out there and realized the door doesn't even open in that direction.
"He [Judge] actually broke through where some of the panels were joined together, the barrier between the two connecting panels. Which is frankly unbelievable. But we're going to strengthen that and add a strip of padding on the bottom as well."
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The change comes after the Yankees announced on Tuesday that Judge would be placed on the 10-day injured list with a bruise and strain in a ligament in his right big toe.
Judge has been sidelined ever since making the spectacular catch on Saturday. In the video of the catch below, you can see how the 6-foot-7-inch, and nearly 300 pound outfielder crashed into the bullpen gate like a train roaring and dashing headlong into another locomotive.
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The following day, the Dodgers taped up the bullpen gate during their 4-1 loss. Following the Yankees series victory, New York manager Aaron Boone suggested the Dodgers add more padding to the visiting bullpen gate.
"Look, I think all these places try to do their best to make things as safe as possible," said Boone. "But to me, it seems like the cement at the bottom could be padded up a bit."
Judge's injury is a huge blow to the scorching hot Yankees. Judge is batting .291 with 19 home runs, 40 RBI and 42 runs scored this season. The Yankees have won 18 of their last 26 games prior to Judge's injury as they've ascended from last place in the AL East into third place, just two games behind the Baltimore Orioles for second.
The Yankees will now have to rely more heavily on sluggers Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson, both of whom returned from the IL themselves during the weekend series with the Dodgers.
Judge's injury also might spark a conversation about stadium improvement across the league. Chavez Ravine is not the only stadium that has the bottom of bullpen doors or walls made of concrete.
In 2019, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout suffered a fractured right foot after he crashed into a wall at Angel Stadium.
In 2020, New York Mets' outfielder Michael Conforto suffered a fractured right wrist when he crashed into the outfield wall at Citi Field making a catch.
You can now add the reigning MVP to that list, and changes have already come.
If MLB wants to enforce more safety for players within the stadium, they could replace concrete walls and bottom ledges with softer materials or add more padding.
In the meantime, the Bronx Bombers will have to continue their quest to catch the Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays without their superstar slugger.
