Aaron Judge’s 2022 season will have been an extraordinary one. The Yankees star, who turned down a lucrative $213.5 million seven-year contract before the start of the campaign, was the Majors’ leading hitter this year, hitting 62 home runs (an American record) and approaching the Triple Crown.
Need I mention that Judge, who will become a free agent in a few weeks, will sign for well over $213.5 million over seven years this winter?
That said, the playoffs are where the guys need to go, and in his first two games in October, Judge doesn’t have an outstanding stat line: he has zero hits in his eight at-bats and seven d between them ended in a strikeout. His only offensive production came via a walk.
Yesterday, his three-take strikeouts earned him boos from Yankee Stadium. Yes yes, the favorite for the title of MVP in the American and new record for home runs in a season in the American was booed in the Bronx after two bad games.
Myles Straw, who is clearly not the crowd favorite in the Bronx, he also admits that he is amazed to see such a thing. It comes with the reality of the Yankees, some would say, but hey.
In both of those games, Judge has been hitting first in the lineup, which he’s been doing for the past few weeks. However, last night, Alex Rodriguez was a good tirade there in connection with this decision, which he considers completely ridiculous.
You can’t let your best hitter hit the front row. Babe Ruth didn’t, Barry Bonds didn’t, Frank Thomas didn’t, David Ortiz didn’t. I did not do it.
I don’t know if Aaron Boone or Brian Cashman made that decision, but someone has to change that immediately.
Alex Rodriguez
Basically, I tend to be a bit in agreement with Rodriguez. Having him hit in the front row at the end of the season (when games didn’t mean anything anymore) in order to give him more at-bats to help him in his home run was a good idea, but in an ideal world, putting it second would probably be the best idea.
However, there is one factor that Rodriguez seems to overlook in his analysis: Right now, the Yankees don’t really have any options to relegate Judge to second place.
Both players in the mold typical Leading hitters in the Yankees organization, DJ LeMahieu and Andrew Benintendi, are injured and not on the club’s roster of 26 players. A return to the Championship Series is possible, but not guaranteed.
Of the possible options, therefore, Anthony Rizzo is probably the most logical, he who has experience in the role and who is able to get to the goals. That said, he offers good protection behind Judge, but if we really want to send him to second place, Rizzo is the most logical option.
Otherwise, names like Oswaldo Cabrera, Harrison Bader and Isiah Kiner-Falefa stand out, but while the former fare little better than Judge against the Guardians, the other two are already ahead of Judge at the bottom of the lineup.
Gleyber Torres and Josh Donaldson have some experience too, but it wasn’t very successful when they took on the role earlier this year. If not, could Matt Carpenter be slotted into the lineup and take on this role? With Giancarlo Stanton only able to be a designated hitter, it seems a bit complex (but I’d like to see the Yankees do it).
Anyway, I can’t wait to see what the Yankees lineup will look like for today’s game, but honestly, I see two possible candidates to hit the front row tonight: Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo. The two will (probably) be the first two batters, it remains to be seen in what order they will be placed.
My prediction: Judge will be front row to allow left-handed hitter Rizzo to break up the cluster of right-handers at the top of the roster. However, if ever Carpenter is in the starting line-up, Rizzo in the first row would become a much more logical avenue …
