Maybe Stephen A. Smith should actually watch a Yankees game or two.
The ESPN personality argued on Wednesday's “First Take” that Aaron Judge's potentially historic season was due in part to Juan Soto batting behind him in the Yankees' lineup, a pretty egregious error that could have been avoided with a couple of seconds of research.
“But with Juan Soto up there at bat, they can't get any rotation,” Smith said Wednesday. “They have to pitch to their brother, you know what I'm saying, because Soto's there. So all of this just helps Aaron Judge be who he is.”
There is just one small, well, big problem with this theory.
Soto has played at second base in all 130 games he has started this season.
Judge has played at third base in all 132 games he has started this season.
At no time during any fight this year was Soto on the “backline” behind the judges, quite the opposite.
If anything, Soto's great season, which could help him earn a historic contract this offseason, will be further enhanced with Judge batting behind him, as pitchers won't want to leave hitters out for the AL MV championship contenders.
Soto has already hit a career-best 37 home runs and is on pace to post a career-best OPS unless the season is shortened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Another irony of Smith's comments is that the lack of protection for judges actually makes his season more impressive.
The Yankees have been without a solid cleanup hitter to protect Judge for a while now, especially since Giancarlo Stanton went on the disabled list and Austin Wells has been able to provide a hit, so pitchers have tried to keep Judge from hitting.
Still, Judge is living up to expectations, and his 51 home runs could tie or even surpass the AL record of 62 set in 2022.
