"People blow it out of proportion" - When Manny Machado came to Aaron Judge's defense following allegations of tampering 

Even complimenting the best players in sports can lead to trouble. Aaron Judge was at the center of the storm after being accused of tampering with Manny Machado in 2018.

Speaking about the then-Baltimore Orioles superstar, Judge said:

“Adding him to our lineup that we already got would be something special. I told him he’d look good in pinstripes.”

At the time, Machado was set to become a free agent at the end of the season. A few days later, Machado came to Judge's defense:

“Aaron Judge is a great kid and has a great future ahead of him. He means well. I don’t think he meant it in the wrong way, anything outside of any other player who has said that to another player.

“You know how many people I’ve told that they would look good in Orioles) black and orange. It’s just part of the game. I think people blow it out of proportion.’’

This is what Machado said initially to Judge:

“I didn’t answer, I just smiled,’’ Machado said. “You just laugh about the situation, just (jokes) and giggles, people talk on the field. Things that happen on the field stay on the field, you know, so you just go about your business.’’

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Aaron Judge warned after comments to Manny Machado

While Aaron Judge may have just been complimenting Manny Machado, it was close enough to the line to garner attention. The MLB looked into the matter and said:

“We have been in contact with the Yankees. They communicated to us that Mr. Judge’s off-the-cuff comments were not appropriate and not authorized by the club. They will speak to him to make sure that this does not happen again.”

The league urged New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to have a conversation with Judge about the severity of tampering and being more cautious. Cashman said:

“Asked me to just politely talk with Aaron and remind him about the optics of that type of dialogue,” Cashman said. “There were no bad intentions there. Simple conversions are more complicated when they play elsewhere, so he understands it."

When asked about it, Aaron Judge replied:

“It just kind of came up in passing. Now I know. You learn something new every day.”

Then-Orioles manager had a humorous response to the situation:

“I’m just glad they didn’t catch Manny recruiting Judge."

While the situation diffused, it served as a lesson as to how risky even a compliment can be.