ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith clearly hasn't been watching much New York Yankees baseball this season following his epic “First Take” blunder on Thursday.
During a segment with Chris Russo and Molly Qerim from the “First Take” desk, Smith was debating whether Aaron Judge, the MVP frontrunner in his respective league, or Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was having a more impressive season.
However, when discussing Judge, Smith made the case for Soto batting behind Judge in the batting order.
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“But you've got Juan Soto batting behind you,” Smith said. “They can't get around you for a second. They've got to throw to his brother, you know what I'm saying, with Soto behind him. So all of that just lends strength to Aaron Judge.”
The problem with Smith's statement is the lack of facts: Judge has never batted in front of Soto this season.
Instead, manager Aaron Boone batted Soto at second and Judge at third.
Why Aaron Judge is having the best offensive season ever by a right-handed hitter
So having Soto in front of Judge, who is looking to break the record he earned in his 2022 MVP campaign, is encouraging pitchers to target lefties more to throw around Judge.
But the thing is, Soto himself is having a great season: Not only did he set a career high with 37 home runs, but he also posted a .421 on-base percentage that would have been the third-best of his career if the season ended today.
Pitchers continue to limit Soto's good pitches, as does Judge. The Yankees' dynamic duo leads the league in walks, with Judge walking 110 and Soto following with 109. The next-best hitter is Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber.
Russo, the legendary New York sports radio host, nodded at the “First Take” desk but didn't intervene to correct Smith's statement.
Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (Wendell Crews – USA Today Sports)
Social media commenters weren't too kind to Smith, letting him know he was wrong.
“Has he not watched a single game this season?” one X user commented.
Another added: “Just a big mouth who doesn't know ball.”
When it comes to the Judge-Ohtani debate, the Dodgers star, who will not be able to pitch this season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, has been extremely impressive, putting together what could be an incredible 50/50 season in home runs and stolen bases.
But Judge has a chance to win MLB's rare Triple Crown, which would see him lead the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs. Judge leads the league in homers (51) and RBIs (123), but Kansas City Royals phenom Bobby Witt Jr. is batting .346 ahead of Judge as of Thursday's game start.
Stephen A. Smith made a huge gaffe on Thursday's “First Take” when he said Juan Soto would bat behind Aaron Judge (above). (image)
Either way, both Judge and Ohtani are likely to win MVP awards again in their careers.
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But to Judge, it wasn't because Soto was hitting behind him. Quite the opposite.
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