Last night, Aaron Judge went 2-for-5, lifting his average to .325 - a solid 10 points over banjo-hitter Jacob Wilson of the Anywhere A's.
That leaves Judge basically alone on the island, as baseball's lone slugger who also hits for average. It's been three months since the world deliriously noticed that Judge was flirting with .400. The corresponding 75-point drop has crimped his chances to rewrite history - and it's been especially noticeable in critical games.
But no matter what happens over the next month, Judge remains head and shoulders - literally and figuratively - above the rest.
Of MLB's six qualifying BA leaders, only Judge has belted more than 26 HRs. More concerning, in the NL, only Trea Turner today is hitting above .300. (Last night, Freddie Freeman fell to .299, and Turner dipped to .301.)
This could be the first year in our lifetimes that nobody in the NL hits .300.
When we discuss sluggers who also hit for average, there's Judge and the cast of Glee.
Kyle Schwarber, 49, .245.
Junior Caminero, 40, .262.
Shohei Ohtani, 46, .279.
Juan Soto, 37, .259.
In September, to seriously challenge for MVP, all Judge needs to do is not crap the bed. He's seven HRs behind Raleigh, his greatest competition. I'd say a 70-point BA difference is hard to ignore, but that assumes the Gammonites will treat Judge fairly: They generally think NYC gets too much attention, and will hold it against Yankees in their votes.
Still, it's time to ask: WTF happened to our hitters? For several winters now, the fathers of the game have changed the rules to boost offense. Has it worked?
1) They banned defensive over-shifts (though infielders straddle the lines and have managed to kill the traditional single up the middle.)
2) They increased the size of the bases. This was supposed to foster an explosion in stolen bases. Well, 10 years ago, Dee Strange-Gordon of the Marlins led MLB with 58 SB. This year, the current leader is our own Jose "The Gay" Caballero, with 42. Can he beat 58? Dunno. But no Maury Wills/Lou Brock/Rickie Henderson has emerged. There is no revolution in running the bases.
3) They forced managers to use relief pitchers for at least three batters. This works - sorta - but the three batters go awfully quick.
Especially when Aaron Judge is coming up with first base open.
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9 comments:
The ghost runner in the sky ticks me off the most.
Me, too, Bitty. But it is interesting how the other rule changes have not worked. Friend sent me this Tom Verducci piece in SI about how the Yankee batters are all taught to swing for the fences, every time. We knew that, but still. And I guess that approach is being replicated all over baseball.
It's as if every play in football were a Hail Mary pass to the end zone. Terrible for the sport. To have a mug like Cal Raleigh, "the Big Dumper"—that's his actual nickname!—challenge the home run record. Or Schwarber, for that matter. Oy.
Though, Hoss, I remember when a reporter asked Mantle if he ever went to the plate and tried to hit a home run. Mantle said, "Every time."
The coaches and statheads would love him today. People used to say he struck out a lot, which you do when you try to hit a home run every time up. But compared to today's whiffers, he was a contact hitter.
Last night, Cone or Kay said that the Yankees were a team built to hit home runs. The idea being, in the postseason the pitching is better and it's harder to string together base hits and score runs. Swinging for the fences will, theoretically, work to your advantage.
I'd think the statiscal advantage would in be contact and situational hitting against elite pitching. Waiting for a good pitcher to throw a meatball is kind of stupid.
But, what do I know.
Champagne super novas also tick me off but thankfully only when they too are in the sky.
What was that old saying? Singles hitters drive Fords, home run hitters drive Cadillacs?
Left unsaid here is the net negative effect on analytics on the modern game. It hurts hitting more than pitching. It especially frowns on situational hitting, sacrifices, and most of all the running game.
Somebody remind me: how many championships did Billy Beane’s teams win?
Yep, and it's not like I was ever the biggest fan of small ball - I like the bloops and blasts as much as every Yankee fan - but if you can't fabricate a run the old fashioned way, you're stuck with the Lotto. There has to be a balance. It like having more than one kind of pitch. But what do I know? I'm just some poor schmuck who has bled pinstripes for 60-something years now. It's not as though I'm a professional like Cashola.
And that's why we loved the Mick but, for every Mantle, Ruth, or Judge, you still need a Rizzuto, Berra, Jeter or some other guy who can slap out a single and leg it out. The assholes who run MLB - not naming names here - have ruined the game. And I speak, not only as a moldy fig, crusty fuck, but as a discerning fan.
What does Volpe drive?
A Trabi.
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