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Here comes the Judge
When the 2017 Major League baseball season got under way, the New York Yankees were thrilled to have Gary Sanchez behind the plate. A native of the Domincan Republic, Sanchez had been signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2009. He had worked his way through the system, and got into 53 games in 2016. He had 42 “runs batted in” in his first 55 MLB games, tying him with Mickey Mantle. He trailed Joe DiMaggio, Joe Gordon, Tony Lazerri and George Selkirk. Pretty impressive company. He has not been a disappointment this year, still knocking the cover off the ball.
And then along came another rookie with potential. A huge kid, standing sixfoot- seven, weighing upwards of 280 pounds, named Aaron Judge. He got into 27 games last year, had four home runs and two doubles. Nothing to write home about, but not exactly out of place. He started the season in the minors this year, then got the call up in April.
And that’s when it began. Judge has been the “Real Deal” for the Yankess this year, and has revitalized the town. He has been adopted by the fans throughout the league. His gap-toothed smile is familiar to every baseball fan in North America. He is playing on the largest stage in baseball, and he appears to love every minute of it. He has had some “off” times, especially since the All-Star break. But with about 40 games left in the 162 game season, he is a lock for the rookie of the year. He will end up batting around .300, with more than 40 homers. He now has 36. He may fall short of the rookie record of Mark McGwire, but he likely won’t have an asterisk beside his name.
As is typical of any out-of-town crowd, he was roundly booed in Toronto. When he struck out, the cheers were the loudest. That is how superstars are recognized in opposition ball parks. This is not the case in New York. Fans in the Judge’s Chamber, a section of Aaron’s supporters, wear white wigs and black robes in support of their favourite player. At the Rogers Centre, many fans wore Judge shirts. Even a group wore their white bath robes with Judge written on the back.
It has been indicated that veteran Yankee Matt Holiday has taken Judge “under his wing” to guide him through the hills and valleys of the game in his first full season. You can often see Holiday bending Judge’s ear in the dugout. Holiday broke into the Majors in 2004, and has a career batting average of more than .300. A good guy to listen to for advice.
Many of Judge’s home runs are tape-measure shots. They have some sort of computerized device that tells the fan the actual distance of the shot. I would expect he will consistently hit several in the five hundred foot range.
He is also an outstanding fielder who covers a lot of ground in right field for the Yankees. His arm is well respected. He recently uncorked a throw to home plate that hushed an opposing crowd. You could almost hear a manager mumble, “Damn, he can do that too!”
The Yankees currently trail the Red Sox by four games in the American League East. It will be a dogfight until the end of the season. Of course pitching is critical. Injuries have afflicted all teams in the league, at the worst possible times. The Red Sox have their own phenom now in the lineup, a certain Devers kid who has hit three home runs in his last two games. The Boston Globe reporters will have plenty to say about him down the stretch.
It will be up to Holiday, and the rest of the Yankees to keep Aaron Judge focused for the rest of the season. I cannot forsee it being a problem. He spent three years at college, playing for Fresno State. He is now 24 years old, and has experienced a year of the “Lights of Broadway”. Never an easy place to play any professional sport.
You can expect many years of great baseball ahead for the kid from California. Mark my words.
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