Aaron Judge is back to getting the Barry Bonds treatment from opposing teams.
The New York Yankees slugger Judge was hit with another unusual strategic play during Wednesday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels. In the first inning of the game at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., Judge came up to bat with one out and a runner on second base.
Instead of giving Judge a chance to swing the bat, Angels manager Ron Washington opted to intentionally walk him on the spot.
The gambit did not quite work for Washington and the Angels. They allowed the Yankees to score in the half-inning anyway after a subsequent (non-intentional) walk to Cody Bellinger and then a sacrifice fly by Anthony Volpe. But at least the Angels made sure that Judge was not going to be the one to beat them.
Lo and behold, there was a sequel in the very next inning. Judge stepped up to the plate in the second with runners on second and third (with two outs this time around). Again, Washington opted to give the free pass to Judge (with first base open at the time).
That one worked out a little bit better for the Angels as they escaped the inning without any damage after Bellinger flied out to end the frame immediately following Judge’s IBB.
The two-time AL MVP Judge, who produced 58 home runs and 144 RBIs last season, continues to be an absolute machine at the plate this season. He entered play Wednesday batting .395 with a 1.234 OPS (both MLB leading marks). Judge has also been especially potent with runners in scoring position, hitting an absurd .450 with three home runs and 27 RBIs (out of his 18 home runs and 47 RBIs overall this year).
