Aaron Judge reigns the 2022 MLB season. He is about to make a new AL record and win the Triple Crown. While the Yankees’ slugger is out to make history, opponent pitchers try to make their best to avoid giving him a hit. The reason, they are afraid of ending up on the wrong side of this historic moment in baseball.
On September 20, Aaron Judge smashed a 430-feet-long home run against the Pirates at Yankee Stadium. It was his 60thhomer that tied him with Yankees’ great Babe Ruth. The baseball fans across the world began to dream of seeing Aaron Judge’s record-equaling 61sthome run soon. There was widespread speculation and projection on how far the Yankees slugger can go.
However, Aaron Judge went homerless for the next seven consecutive games. Pitchers from the Boston Red Sox and the Blue Jays made every possible attempt to deny him a hit.
Finally, the judgment moment arrived on September 18 at Rogers Center. Aaron Judge hit his 61st home run to tie with Roger Maris’ who made the highest single-season home runs for the American League in 1961.
The next three games were at Yankee Stadium and fans were ready to explode to see the slugger hitting the record at home. A historic aura ensnared many as Maris had a home moment with the record exactly 61 years ago. However, after four games – three at home and one on the road – and almost a week later, the wait for Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run goes on.
Aaron Judge can hit and he will definitely hit. But pitchers are playing the spoilsport to some extent. Impatient fans booed the Orioles pitchers and even called Spenser Watkins “a-hole.”
Allegations of pitching around the slugger to prevent him from getting the AL record often led to the emergence of conspiracy theories. This forced Baltimore’s manager and pitcher to clarify their strategy against Aaron Judge.
Their starting pitcher Austin Voth admitted that he was worried about being on the wrong side of history when Aaron Judge tried to break a record. The pitcher was concerned to become “a footnote in the history of Judge.” He told:
“Whenever you face a lineup with that kind of batter, there’s one you don’t want to beat you. So, you attack him when no one is on base, and you’re a little more careful when someone is there. He’s having an awesome season, man, but at the end of the day I’ve got to be the guy that gets him out somehow. I’ve got to find a way — any way possible. Our game plan was mostly to pitch away, which is what you saw today. We thought that if we pitched him away for the most part, we could limit the damage he could do. That’s kind of how it went down.”
His teammate Watkins said:
“Sure, we all had an idea going into the series what it was going to be like. Our plan of attack was just to hit certain locations. There wasn’t any sense of trying to be reserved and not go after him. I was just trying to locate in certain spots. He hits hard and is dangerous. If you leave anything on the plate, he will hurt you. In both ABs, I just tried to hit certain spots. I wasn’t able to do as much with the first one, but I was able to with the second one once I fell behind.”
After his 61st homer, 16 pitchers faced Aaron Judge, who got “5-for-22 with 11 walks and 12 strikeouts” in return. There were intentional walking, pitching around, and many more things that aimed at stopping the slugger from creating an AL history.
Be it Miguel Yajure, Kyle Bradish, Matt Barnes, or Jordan Lyles, no one was favorable to the Yankees’ slugger. Everyone wants to see and appreciate history but no one wants to be on the wrong side. Stout claimed to pitch “to get him out regardless of the count.” Michael Wacha allowed him a leadoff walk but not a hit. From Toronto to Texas, the majority of pitches to Judge were out of his strike zone.
All of them have one thing in mind. They don’t want to be another Tim Mazya or Will Crowe, who are now answers to baseball history trivia.
The pitchers’ fear and attempt to avoid throwing Aaron Judge’s 62ndhome run is killing one of the greatest moments for the game.
Do you think pitchers are right or just trying to save their skin?
