INKING FEELING
judge lands endorsement dea, continues skid
Here comes the Fanatic. All Rise. Aaron Judge signed an endorsement deal Sunday with Fanatics, which bills itself as the global leader for officially licensed sports merchandise and has such up-andcoming MLB stars as Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger in its lineup.
“I’ve been pretty selective with who I want to partner with,’’ Judge told The Post before the Yankees lost 3-2 to the Red Sox in 10 innings Sunday night at Yankee Stadium. “For me, Fanatics seemed like the right fit. Now fans, not only in the New York area, but around the world can get my products and my autographs. I’m excited to do that.’’
Judge, 25, has a special connection with Yankee fans.
This has been a deal in the making for “a couple of months,’’ Judge said, and is another example of his tremendous popularity in his first full season with the Yankees. Judge leads the AL in home runs with 35, but has been in a terrible slump since the Home Run Derby.
This is a multi-year deal, though no terms were released.
Judge said negotiating this deal has nothing to do with his slump. All that is part of the peaks and valleys of the game — especially for a rookie, who needs to make adjustments as the season goes along, he said.
Judge has struck out a Yankeesrecord 30 straight games and is batting .165 since the All-Star break with 46 strikeouts, including three Sunday night.
“I’m still holding up great,’’ said Judge, who was on the field five hours before Sunday night’s game working a hitting drill designed to keep him from pulling off the baseball. “Even with a deal like this I’ve been able to keep my focus on the field. Fanatics has been great about respecting that. I thought this would be a good time to knock this out.’’
With the Subway Series following the Red Sox series, now is a good time to also get back to knocking out home runs. Judge is trying to re-gain the magic he had in the first half. Does he feel he is getting close to correcting his problem?
“For me,’’ he said, “it’s just that time of year. Everyone goes through these ups and downs. You are going to get out of this. It’s just part of baseball. Those 0-for-4 days make those 4-for-4 days so much better. I just have to keep grinding, it will all work out.
“The pitches I’m fouling off now I would usually be putting in play. I just have to keep grinding.’’
Joe Girardi pointed to a mechanical issue the Yankees and Judge are trying to fix.
“I just think he’s off a little bit mechanically, similar to when a Dellin Betances gets off mechanically,’’ Girardi said. “He’s a big guy. A lot of times it looks a lot worse than if it’s a smaller guy. This is a guy who has a bigger strike zone to cover. I don’t think it’s pressure. I moved him in the order and he handled everything. He handled the All-Star lights well. I think it’s more of a mechanical thing we have to get right.’’
For Yankees fanatics, Judge must get right to keep his popularity rising.