I Don’t Trust Viral Video Clips—And Neither Should You
This is a story about baseball that’s not just about baseball.
On Sunday, the New York Yankees defeated the Houston Astros in dramatic fashion, thanks to a walk-off home run from Aaron Judge, their franchise star. Winning is nothing new for the Yankees, who have the best record in the sport, but what came after was a bit unusual.
In a post-game interview on the field, Judge was asked by the Yankees’ television network how the team manages to play with such confidence even when behind in the late innings. (The Yankees have by far the most comeback wins in the game.) Judge’s answer quickly went viral on social media:
This response raised eyebrows for several reasons. For one, it was gets its confidence, not where he does. Finally, such a response constituted a rare departure from official Yankees messaging discipline. Because the team operates in baseball’s biggest media market, the Yankees subject their players to extensive publicity training to ensure that they never say anything interesting like this. From day one, players are conditioned to respond to all queries with platitudes like “good team win, great execution.” Basically like so:
