New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is growing increasingly frustrated with how often opposing teams are opting to intentionally walk Aaron Judge. While it’s a common strategy in baseball, Boone—understandably protective of his star player—believes fans and the sport are being deprived of seeing one of the game’s best hitters take his swings.
Boone embraces new intentional walk penalty proposal
A recent suggestion proposed on OutKick.com’s “The Ricky Cobb Show” might offer a solution Boone can get behind. The idea? Each intentional walk should come with an escalating penalty: one base for the first, two bases for the second, and so forth, with all base runners advancing accordingly.
“I’m with you. I am,” Boone said during Wednesday’s episode of the show. “This topic keeps coming up, even in my daily media scrums. I’ve been asked what I think about it, and while I need more time to mull it over, I’m inclined to agree.”
Boone drew a parallel to the NFL, comparing the strategy to taking the ball out of Patrick Mahomes’ hands during crucial moments. “I think in those key moments, you should be forced to pitch to these elite players. If you want to avoid them, you’ve got to do it carefully, not just give them a free pass. MLB has shown a willingness to tweak rules in recent years, and this might be worth considering.”
Boone’s analogy evokes memories of infamous NFL moments, such as the “Miracle at the Meadowlands,” where a failure to kneel down led to a disastrous outcome for the New York Giants.
As it stands, opposing teams have been pitching around Judge consistently, leading to 101 walks, including 14 intentional ones—both league highs. It’s hard to blame them when Judge is posting a .332/.466/.699 slash line with 42 home runs and 107 RBIs. His 221 OPS+ indicates an offensive performance that’s double the value of an average player.
However, Boone knows the intentional walk won’t disappear from the game. It remains a strategic tool, much like bunting or stealing. Even if rules were changed, teams might still find ways to pitch around star players.
For now, the Yankees’ lineup behind Judge will need to step up and make opposing teams pay for their decisions.
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