Yankees Third Base Coach Fires Back At Alex Rodriguez Following Wild Card Game Criticism

Fittingly, Alex Rodriguez was calling the Wild Card Game at Fenway Park when the Red Sox took it to the Yankees, effectively sending their bitter rival packing for the Winter.

And A-Rod was like most Yankees fans, looking for people to point fingers at while the team was getting outplayed in every aspect by Boston. Third base coach Phil Nevin made himself an easy scapegoat candidate when he sent Aaron Judge home on a long single by Giancarlo Stanton.

Judge was out by a mile.

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“You don’t have to overthink that one,’’ Alex Rodriguez said in the broadcast. “I’m surprised of the magnitude of that mistake [by Nevin] in this situation.”

I mean, Aaron Judge wasn't even close to being safe. Brutal send by Phil Nevin for the Yankees. May have ended their season.https://t.co/b6ociIxq33

— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) October 6, 2021

During an interview with  the New York Post, Phil Nevin responded to Alex Rodriguez’s criticism.

“There were a lot of factors,’’ Nevin said. “I did see the low throw [from center fielder Kiké Hernandez]. It was off line, as well. I factored in the wet surface, which ended up being the demise [of the play], because it was a quick skip into [Xander] Bogaerts’ glove. He made a great baseball play and throw home.”

Nevin would go on to take a pointed shot at A-Rod.

“The guy has never been in that situation, but thinks he has a good idea of what baseball is in that spot and he’s wrong,” Nevin replied. “He’s never been in that position.”

Sure, the Phil Nevin send looked pretty brutal to a naked eye. But I don’t think it necessarily was a make-or-break moment. The Red Sox were simply the better team on Tuesday night, and they deserved to move on to the ALDS.

Alex Rodriguez still hasn’t responded to Nevin.

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