BUILT TO BLAST
Baby Bombers remind Sutcliffe of how Cubs, Sox became champs
The first time Rick Sutcliffe met Aaron Judge, he had Ken Griffey Jr. with him.
The Mariners Hall of Famer had accompanied Sutcliffe to a Yankees game ESPN broadcast in Seattle last season. Judge was a big fan of Griffey, and the Yankees summoned the rookie to meet his idol before the game.
“We are in Joe Girardi’s office and Griff stood up to shake his hand and just went, ‘Oh my, Lord.’ ” Sutcliffe recalled as the Yankees head into Wrigley Field this weekend.
That sums up the reaction the rest of baseball has had this season. At that point, however, Judge’s massive 6foot-7, 282-pound frame was the only thing to marvel at as he scuffled in a strikeout-filled MLB audition last season. Now, he is eliciting “M-V-P” chants while carrying the Yankees offense to one of the best starts in baseball. But it’s not the mammoth home runs — Judge has 13 — that has impressed Sutcliffe most.
“You look at the specimen, but there’s also the personality. The intangibles are off the charts with this guy. He just reeks of leadership,” Sutcliffe, an ESPN analyst, said before calling the Yankees-Blue Jays game on Wednesday night.
Judge is one piece of the Yankees’ rebuild that they hope not only puts them in contention this season, but for years to come. Sutcliffe, a steady presence at Cubs’ spring training before each season, has watched closely his former team’s makeover that resulted in a world championship last season.
Sutcliffe sees similarities between what the Cubs and Red Sox accom- plished under team president Theo Epstein and what the Yankees could be capable of this season.
“You go back to what Theo did in Boston and now here, the years they won, there was one, two, three players that came from the farm system who had an impact,” Sutcliffe said. “Aaron Judge says Clint Frazier ‘hits the ball a long ways further than me,’ if you could believe that. I saw [Gleyber] Torres for two years in spring training. This is an everyday, impact player.
“The Yankees have those type of players that if someone got hurt or was to falter, these guys can come up and help or be packaged in a deal to bring in someone else to help. That’s why I feel like the Yankees can sustain the success that they have.”
The Yankees helped the Cubs sustain their success a year ago when they traded Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs for a package of prospects that included Torres, now their top player in the minor leagues. It was the resigning of Chapman and signing of Matt Holliday that convinced Sutcliffe the Yankees were serious about being contenders this season.
“They knew these guys were ready — Judge, [Gary] Sanchez,” Sutcliffe said. “You don’t bring [Chapman and Holliday] in if you think you aren’t close. You bring those guys back because you think you have a chance to win.”
While Judge has exceeded expectations, the other Baby Bombers have made little to no impact. Both Greg Bird and Sanchez are on the disabled list; Sanchez has resided there for the majority of the season, and Bird recently joined him after a miserable start.
Sanchez is expected back Friday from a strained biceps, and could further bolster the Yankees lineup if he can find anything near the dominant form he displayed last summer.
Sutcliffe said he believes the offense’s emergence has taken the pressure off starting pitchers Michael Pineda and Luis Severino and helped them have turnaround seasons. The two, sandwiched around impressive rookie Jordan Montgomery, will start this weekend against the champs.
“I think it begins with having a better team behind you,” Sutcliffe said. “When they take the mound, the lineup has some pop to it, so you feel confident that you can go out there and give up three solo home runs and you are still going to win that game.
“I don’t think they felt that way last year. … You take the mound with more confidence because you are surrounded by better players. That’s what I see, particularly with Severino.”