FIRST CONTACT
In spring debut, Judge shows commitment to cutting down strikeouts
TAMPA — Late Thursday morning, Aaron Judge took batting practice in the same group as Gary Sanchez.
Sanchez is coming off a historic two months at the end of 2016, when he rewrote the record book by hitting 20 homers in just 53 games. Judge’s debut was almost as memorable — but not for the right reasons.
Judge stuck out a whopping 42 times in 95 plate appearances after his Aug. 13 call-up.
After spending most of his time in The Bronx last season shrugging off the whiff totals that alarmed many members of the Yankees organization, Judge acknowledged he needs to improve.
“It’s not good,” Judge said of his inability to cut down on his swings and misses. “I don’t want to strike out. Nobody does. It’s just something I’ve got to work at.”
That effort began Thursday, and assistant hitting coach Marcus Thames liked what he saw.
“You can tell he’s been working,” Thames said after their f i rst session of the spring together. “He looked more athletic.”
The Yankees continue to have big plans for Judge, with owner Hal Steinbrenner saying repeatedly he expected him to be the starting right fielder in 2017.
“I think someone mentioned [the endorsement] to me,” Judge said. “I try not to read too much about that stuff.”
Perhaps for the best, since the vote of confidence is good — but it will only go so far.
Aaron Hicks, coming off a disappointing Yankees debut of his own, figures to give Judge some competition, and the right-handed DH role should be filled by Matt Holliday or Chris Carter, so that doesn’t figure to be an option.
But it’s clear Judge will get his chances, despite last year’s results.
“I went out there and a lot of times didn’t get the job done,” Judge said. “You have to handle failure. I’ve got plenty of that. My first year at Fresno State, in freshman fall ball, I think I hit .190. It’s frustrating, [but] you deal with it and make the right adjustments.”
So far, that hasn’t happened.
“I thought he started expanding [ the strike zone] a little bit too much,” Thames said. “His strikeout numbers at Triple- A weren’t as much as they were in New York. ... I thought he got sped-up.”
Despite what his stats say, the 6-foot-7, 275-pound Judge doesn’t view himself as most others do.
“I try not to think of myself as a power hitter,” said Judge, who will be 25 in April. “I try to be — honestly — a contact hitter. I feel like with my strength and size, it allows me to drive balls out of the park. It’s something to work on.”
He didn’t show that power as often as the Yankees had hoped last season. After homering in his first two games, Judge went deep just twice more. After an impressive first week in the majors, he faded dramatically in the final weeks.
In his last 20 games, he had just three extra-base hits and an OPS of .454.
“Failure always gives you an opportunity to see something you need to improve on,” Judge said. “It’s a learning experience. … I got a chance in the major leagues. It was kind of like a practice test in school: You get a feel for it, so next year coming in I kind of know what to expect and prepare for.”