New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge faced a different opponent on Aug. 26.
Judge appeared as himself in an episode of "Rubble & Crew," a spinoff of the popular children's show "Paw Patrol." In the episode, the outfielder is unable to attend a Home Run Derby, so Rubble and his cohorts build a ballpark for Judge to host the derby in Builder Cove. His two dogs also made an appearance, with his wife Samantha as the voice actor for one of his pets.
Those home runs have been the last that Judge has hit. The Yankees outfielder has struggled since the episode aired, with just five hits in 36 plate appearances over those eight games. He has two doubles for his only extra-base hits while he struck out 14 times. The Yankees have gone 2-6 in those eight games, falling a half-game behind the Orioles in the AL East.
Every player goes through slumps throughout the season. Judge himself had a cold spell from July 3 through July 14, posting a .184/.380/.368 batting line with a pair of home runs in 50 plate appearances as the Yankees limped into the All-Star break. However, Judge did not have an appearance on "Paw Patrol" for fans on social media to blame his slump on.
Although Judge is no longer on pace for his second 60-homer season, he is still the prohibitive favorite to win his second AL MVP award. He has produced a .323/.455/.702 batting line in his 618 plate appearances entering Friday, leading the majors in home runs (51), RBI (124), walks (113), on-base percentage and slugging. It is a matter of time before he heats up again. When that happens, the "curse" of "Paw Patrol" will be put to rest.
