Baseball is a game of ups and downs and Aaron Judge has been sharply descending of late. But New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone isn’t worried about his slugger.
After the Yankees’ 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday, a member of the media pointed out that Judge is in the midst of a 12-game stretch without a long ball, asking Boone for analysis. Boone noted that the 32-year-old superstar is slightly off now but believes he will progress to the mean in no time.
“Saw a couple smoked balls today…not much different, just probably missed a couple pitches that when he’s really rolling [he] sticks in the seats,” Boone said. “But that’s just a matter of an at-bat and back to rolling, and he’ll hit them in bunches. [He’s] not far off at all.”
Mere weeks ago, Judge was on pace to hit a career-high 63 dingers. Such a feat seems highly unlikely now, as he’d have to hit 12 homers in the last 19 games of the season — a tall task even for the 6-foot-7 outfielder.
Judge’s power isn’t the only aspect of his game that’s suffered recently. He’s hitting just .208/.364/.434 over his last 15 games. As a result, the star outfielder has missed a massive opportunity to catch Bobby Witt Jr. in the batting title race — a title that would likely give Judge a triple-crown.
On Aug. 21, Witt was batting .350 to Judge’s .334. In a slump of his own, Witt ended Sunday hitting .336 — but Judge is now down to .321.
But while the Captain’s downturn may have cost him personal glory, the timing is perfect for potential team success. The Yankees are clinging to a half-game lead in the AL East and with Judge due to get hot soon, they just might have enough power to hold on.
