There’s no downplaying it, and there’s certainly no sugarcoating it: Aaron Judge has been an absolute disaster this postseason.
While he’s a lock to win the AL MVP, Judge’s October couldn’t possibly be more opposite of his borderline-historic regular season.
With the Yankees facing an 0-2 hole in the World Series, the clock sure is ticking on Judge to turn things around and prove he can deliver when it matters most.
Manager Aaron Boone recently addressed Judge’s struggles, noting that the star batter isn’t positioning himself well for making solid swing decisions.
“It’s just about getting in a good position,” Boone said. “You get in that strong position, that load where then the swing decisions follow that. So I think he’s kind of working through that. Once that happens, it happens like that.”
Of course, the timing couldn’t be worse for mechanical flaws. After all, the Yankees aren’t in spring training here.
Incredibly, Judge has swung at 23 off-speed pitches out of the strike zone and has whiffed on 21 of them.
While everyone knows how talented Judge is, there’s no denying that he’s looked like a fish out of water this entire postseason.
His reoccurring October failures have left fans extremely frustrated – a sentiment Judge himself acknowledges and is eager to turn around.
“I think what it comes down to is just swinging at strikes, getting a pitch to drive,” Judge said. “You don’t get a pitch to drive, don’t try to make something happen up there.
“It’s the postseason. Guys are going to make their pitches. They’re going to pitch you tough, so I just got to hunker down and get the job done. That’s what it comes down to and I’m not doing that right now.”
Judge is 1-for-9 with six strikeouts in the first two games of the World Series and has a .150 batting average with 19 strikeouts in 50 postseason plate appearances this postseason.
His lack of production came to a head in Game 2 when he lazily struck out three times, and the Yankees missed a golden opportunity with the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
“We’re all a little bit anxious, you know?” Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm said. “First two games of our World Series in our career. So you’re going to go out there a little bit anxious. I feel like when we get home, he’s going to feel more confident and he’s going to calm down a little bit more going into a home crowd.”
Needless to say, Judge and the entire team are happy to head back home.
“We got the best fans in baseball, so they’re definitely going to be loud, they’re going to be rowdy, they’re going to have our back all game,” Judge said.
The Yankees will indeed get an extra push from the desperate Bronx crowd tonight.
However, if things continue to head south, that crowd will turn on them (and certainly Judge) in a heartbeat. (And that’s no knock on Yankees fans. After all, “the standard is the standard,” as they say.)
While it looks ugly right now, Judge and the Yankees are more than capable of turning everything around.
Would it really surprise anyone if the Bombers find a way to win the next three and head back to LA with a 3-2 series lead?
“The narrative is whatever is made of it, but he’s a brick wall,” first basemen Anthony Rizzo said of Judge. “He knows how to handle all this stuff. I’m proud of who he is as a person and a leader.
“These times right now define him even more because he comes in every day and is still the same as he’s ever been. Monday will be fun to get to The Bronx and have our fans behind us.”
Game 3 is tonight at Yankee Stadium with first pitch set for 8:08pm EST. The pitching matchup features Clarke
Schmidt for the Yankees versus Walker Buehler for the Dodgers.
What are your thoughts on Judge’s severe struggles at the plate?
Will he be able to turn things around before it’s too late???
