Aaron Judge

[irv]

Who's Aaron Judge anyways? What about Justin Smoak?

Hit his 32 HR today, is batting .300, is a switch hitter, like Mantle, is a solid first baseman, has a gorgeous wife and looks like Johnny Hopp.

He does have a few RC's, but nothing like Judge does, so, being since his RC's are more scarce, they should hold better value, no?

All kidding aside, I am happy to see a player turn things around like he has.
I don't know for sure, but I am pretty sure the Jays were looking to trade him before the season started this year based on his last couple mediocre seasons with the Jays.
He has had a great season, and the Jays would be in a worst position than they are (chasing a wild card spot) if it weren't for him.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2007-UD-USA-J...YAAOSw0j9ZOIwc

[Peter_Spaeth]

Two more Ks for Judge so far tonight. And he is down to .288. The only positive sign recently is that he is walking quite a bit which suggests he is not swinging at bad pitches, and is also keeping his OBP and OPS up.

[Snapolit1]

Perhaps the comparisons to Babe Ruth were a little premature. Not like Yankee fans though to get a little carried away. Usually very calm and understated.

[frankbmd]

He's been profoundly depressed since learning that his home runs in the Home Run Derby don't count.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Judge was barely a top 100 prospect for most of his minor league career. There are reasons for that. We are now seeing those reasons.

[cammb]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Two more Ks for Judge so far tonight. And he is down to .288. The only positive sign recently is that he is walking quite a bit which suggests he is not swinging at bad pitches, and is also keeping his OBP and OPS up.

I am not quite sure that I heard it right but didn't he tie a major league record by striking out at least once in 30 consecutive games?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by cammb

I am not quite sure that I heard it right but didn't he tie a major league record by striking out at least once in 30 consecutive games?

I think that is right. There must be a hole in his swing ? because he's drawing a lot of walks so he doesn't seem impatient or to have a bad eye.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I think that is right. There must be a hole in his swing ? because he's drawing a lot of walks so he doesn't seem impatient or to have a bad eye.

Mark Simon of ESPN thinks the Umps have changed his strike zone:

http://www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/p...in-second-half

[irv]

Originally Posted by irv

Had the opportunity to watch Judge and the Yankees take on the Blue Jays the last few nights and unfortunately for Judge, he is still struggling since the All Star break.

I believe, IIRC, he only had 1 double (his only hit) in the series? What surprised me the most, was the amount of strikes he took just watching them go by. Even I, a Blue Jays fan, was saying, swing when I could see a hittable ball coming his way, but he just watched them into the catcher's mitt.

It's his 27th consecutive game with a strikeout The record for positional players is 32.

I am not sure the story nor the reasons why, but for him, and baseball, I sure hope he is able to turn it around.

Originally Posted by cammb

I am not quite sure that I heard it right but didn't he tie a major league record by striking out at least once in 30 consecutive games?

The record is 32, he is now at 30 I believe?

Adam Dunn holds the record for position players with 32 consecutive games with a strikeout.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseba...tic-1.14027302

[Peter_Spaeth]

Up to 31, he whiffed in his first at bat just now.

From the article.
Judge has drawn 25 walks and hit the five home runs since the break, but much of the rest has been hard to watch. The player who seemed to always put the barrel of the bat on the ball has 46 strikeouts in 97 at-bats since the break and at least one in 30 straight games (51 strikeouts in 104 at-bats in that span).

It's painful to watch the rapid decline of a seemingly very nice young man, and one with some clear talent although his anointment as the next superstar was premature. Obviously if he is striking out 50 percent of the time he is not long for the majors even if he does have the occasional pop in his bat. Hopefully he can stop the bleeding and figure out what's going wrong. It's a reminder of how damn difficult it is to hit a baseball and how small the difference between stardom and nothing really is.