New York Yankees: Aaron Judge the new Derek Jeter?
By Jason Evans
Is Aaron Judge the new Derek Jeter for the New York Yankees?
The New York Yankees are off to a hot start this season and one of the reasons why is due to the excellent play of rookie outfielder Aaron Judge. Going into last night, Judge is hitting .304 with a 1.143 OPS, 10 homers and 21 RBI. This after looking basically over-matched last season when he came up. Last season, he only hit .179 in 84 at bats.
Judge has created a buzz in New York about being the next star for the New York Yankees. Manager Joe Girardi has added to it with his comments about the young slugger.
"“He is a little bit like Derek for me,” Girardi said of the 6-foot-7, 282-pound Judge. “He has a smile all the time. He loves to play the game. You always think he is going to do the right thing on the field and off the field. He has a presence about him. He plays the game to win all the time and that is the most important thing. It is not about what you did that day.“I understand that is a big comparison, but I remember Derek when he was young. He grew into that leadership role but that was Derek. Derek loved to have fun, loved to laugh and loved to play the game.”"
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High praise indeed for such a young player. Anytime you are mentioned in the same breath as Derek Jeter, it’s certainly a compliment. If Judge develops into half of the player Jeter was, I think the Yankees will be thrilled about that and he’ll be part of new core moving forward.
One of the things that made Jeter so good was how consistent he was. While it’s great that Judge had an amazing month, there are still five to go and you have to continue to prove yourself every day and show you aren’t just a flash in the pan. We’ve seen players have great months and then fade away.
What’s nice for Judge is that he has guys like Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Holliday who can show him the ropes. Then, once the next wave of talent comes in guys like Clint Frazier and Gleyber Torres, Judge can in turn provide some leadership and guidance for them.
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Judge had a great month and the Yankees certainly hope it’s a sign of things to come for him and the club. I’d probably hold off on the Jeter comparisons for now though.