FanPost

Finding Aaron Judge

In 1987 Mark McGwire hit 49 home runs for the Oakland A’s, making him the record holder for most home runs in a rookie season. 30 years later and the record has been broken by New York Yankees right fielder, Aaron Judge. Aaron hit 50 home runs making major league history.

It's obvious Aaron Judge is having an accomplished season batting .283 with a .620 slugging percentage and 1.037 OPS. Although Aaron leads the league in strikeouts, averaging 12 more than any other player in the majors, he’s consistently able to reach base when making contact to keep his batting average at a respectable average for a rookie season.

A great young player with an impressive baseball IQ, Aaron was selected in the 1st round of the 2013 draft. And I think he's only just getting started. The 25 year-old has hit a total of 56 career home runs, an impressive accomplishment for a rookie. Unfortunately the Aaron we know wasn't present in last nights game against the Cleveland Indians.

In a historic comeback last night, the Yankees managed to win against the best regular season team, The Cleveland Indians, without help from Judge. The Yankees advanced to the ALCS while Judge had one of the worst nights on the field. He went 0–for-5 with four strikeouts, bringing the total to 16, making Judge the record holder for most strikeouts in a single playoff series. Judge also earned the record as first player in major league history with 3 four-strikeout games in a single post season. Sigh.

It’s hard to criticize a playoff slump. We shouldn't overreact to it just yet. Perhaps resting Judge and allowing him to regroup and regain his competitive nature is the strategic move at this point. The Astros are going to be a harder sell without Judge firing on all cylinders. They won’t allow for a regrouping and historic comeback. Sure the Yankees are playing great baseball this season. But Aaron Judge is having an MVP worthy season. He is the missing piece of the puzzle. Aaron Judge has the power to lead this Yankee team to a strong finish.

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