Aaron Judge, the Yankee superstar, is chasing one of the most elusive American league records. Since the last five games, the slugger has been without a home run that everyone wants him to hit and equal Roger Maris’ 61 homers. Be it bad luck, clever pitching strategy, or the weight of pressure, the slugger continues to struggle.
As the scene of action moves to Toronto, his patient family and the family of Roger Maris will need to follow Aaron Judge there. The Judge Homer Anticipation Tour will have three games in Toronto.
Aaron Judge has hit 60 home runs. His last came against the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Fans were expecting him to equal and eventually surpass Maris at Yankee Stadium, which has more homers scored than any other ballpark. But all four games against the Red Sox went without a hit by the slugger. Once he came close but caught just a few feets from the center wall.
The superman is on the verge of a Triple Crown and the real, honest-to-goodness home run record strike a flyball at 113 mph the other day, and it did not even come close to leaving the yard. The team members were shocked. Was it a breeze? The colder weather? Did God step in?
Previously, Aaron Judge’s flyballs were clearing fences by 50 feet. Even when he punches them severely, they now stop abruptly.
A simpler explanation, which hasn’t been mentioned until now, is that Judge might be human.
When you’re trying to break a real home run record that’s been up for twice as long as you’ve been alive, you’re going to push. And when all your family and friends flew across the country to be filmed seeing it, you’ll push even harder.
It’s how people are. Aaron Judge may be like the rest of us, it seems. Even so, a little.
A scout for the National League, who was at the stadium during the rain-shortened Yankees win on Sunday, explained it very well.
He said:
“He has definitely been pushing; he’s under a lot of pressure because all of his friends and family are here; I’m sure he’s glad to be doing this hard job; he’ll get it when he stops trying so hard and doesn’t try so hard.”
The slugger is going to get it, and not just because there are only 10 games left in this incredible season of his. Even better, he appears to be at peace now though Yankee Stadium made him a little nervous.
A couple of Yankees said that the other reason was that pitchers were trying not to throw strikes. He did walk six times in the five games, but Rich Hill and Nick Pivetta, the starters for the Red Sox, went after him.
Hill once said:
“I would not pitch around him. That wasn’t an option. I don’t believe in it. Why we’re here is for the competition. You put it on the line and risk failure every time. He’s doing it as well. People are paying their hard-earned money and want to see Judge challenged.”
Hill said that he didn’t care if he became a footnote in history like Tracy Stallard did when Maris hit his 61st home run 61 years ago.
More likely, it was a rare sign of nerves for the league’s most valuable player. Even if you’ve been playing all season under pressure from your contract and your future, as he has, it’s different when everyone is watching and there are cameras everywhere.
The five-day “slump” up until Saturday could be the first sign that he isn’t perfect, even though it wasn’t a typical slump. During the five-game break, he was getting on base at a rate of .476. So, no one would have known if it hadn’t been Aaron Judge on a homer history tour.
But people who were there did notice. Even though no Yankee would say it, something didn’t seem quite right. One other baseball player saw that his swing had a slight upward tilt. Could he have unconsciously been going for a long ball?
Maybe. But on Sunday, Aaron Judge was as happy as ever, so something must have changed. Before the game, he gave autographs and seemed like himself, which means he was having a good time.
Aaron Judge was back in the clubhouse before the game after being away for a few days. He let reporters ask him about the chase, his mind, his nerves, or anything else. He did this with a smile, a wink most of the time, and sometimes a handshake. He had returned.
The slugger has seen the umpires put the balls with history on them into play. He has seen the fans with their phones out and aimed at him, of course. He may have even seen all the people from home waiting and hoping for history in the box.
The Yankees superstar told:
“I’m not blind. I see them changing out the balls. When it comes down to it, you’ve still got to compete and play the game. You can’t really get caught up in all the noise. I’ve been in this stadium … playoff games, people on their feet, late in games, high-pressure situations … It’s just another day.”
Fans, analysts, and former and current teammates are looking to Aaron Judge to set a new AL record.
Can Aaron Judge have it in Toronto?
