IN 2ND YEAR, JUDGE RULES
No sophomore slump for Yankee superstar
DETROIT — Lost in all the early-season turmoil, Aaron Judge has gotten off to a fantastic start in his sophomore year.
Judge came into Saturday’s game against the Tigers — which was rained out — batting .340 with a .470 on-base percentage.
He has an 11-game hitting streak and is tied for the majorleague lead with 12 walks.
As far as way-too-early projections are concerned, Judge — who turns 26 on April 26 — is on pace for 208 hits, 35 homers, 35 doubles, 150 runs, 139 walks and 197 strikeouts.
A season like that would easily put him in the thick of the AL MVP race again.
“I don’t put a ceiling on Aaron,” Aaron Boone said. “I think between the ears he’s really good and understands what teams are trying to do to him. He develops a great plan going into games. He is really in-tune with his swing and all that goes into making himself successful.”
Despite getting off to a 3-for15 start in the Toronto series, Judge, who hit 52 homers in 2017 en route to garnering AL Rookie of the Year honors, knew he was going to pick it up.
“There’s going to be ups and downs,” said Judge, who had shoulder surgery in the offseason and was brought back slowly during the spring. “There’s probably going to be a stretch where I’m back to .315, and people are going to ask, ‘What’s going on?’ The biggest thing with me is always sticking to my approach. And if I stick with that, the numbers are going to be there in the end.”
Judge’s patience at the plate at this stage of his career is impressive. “The big thing for me is I walk a lot because I don’t think about strike-zone discipline,” he said. “I think about just pitches I can handle. If there’s a pitch that I can’t handle or I can’t drive I’m not going to swing at it, and usually it’s not a strike.”
Judge has found success in the No. 2 hole, where he’s benefitted from hitting in front of reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton.
“In certain situations I can tell that they don’t want to walk me to have ‘G’ come up with a couple runners on,” Judge said. “Gardy (Brett Gardner) has been getting on base a lot ahead of me. And the last thing they want is two guys on when ‘G’ comes up, so I’ve gotten a lot more pitches to hit, which is a good thing.”
Judge’s goal is just to get on first base — with Stanton, Didi Gregorius and Gary Sanchez all capable of driving him in. “He’s not satisfied,” Boone said. “He’s always grinding and looking for advantages. He’s just going to get on base a boatload and be a problem night in and night out for opposing pitchers.
“Despite only having one full year in the league he’s mature beyond his years. He’s a leader in (our clubhouse). He’s kind of the perfect competitor.”
If Judge sticks to his approach and stays healthy, it seems like anything is possible — except for a sophomore slump.