On a day when multiple Most Valuable Player Award winner Aaron Judge celebrates his rise to the ranks of elite athletes, it feels right to return to his roots when Judge was less than 6 feet tall. A -7, 280-pound curious player who primarily specializes in strikeouts.
It's hard to remember that, isn't it?
Judge hit a solo home run in his major league debut on August 13, 2017, off Tampa's Matt Andriese in the second inning, helping cap an unforgettable Yankees season with an 8-4 victory. did. But for Judge, who hit .179 with a 61+ OPS in 95 at-bats and 84 at-bats, it was about as good as his best performance of the year. He had 42 strikeouts, exactly half of those at-bats.
The Yankees organization thought highly of Judge, but there was some uncertainty. He never hit more than 20 home runs in a minor league season. There was a big, looping swing. Many believed there might be a bigger upside to Greg Bird and even Tyler Austin.
