New York Yankees: Expectations high for Aaron Judge in the second half
By Keaton Moore
With a phenomenal first half and a Home Run Derby trophy, the New York Yankees expect Aaron Judge to maintain his success through the final months of the season.
Let me take you back to 2014. The New York Yankees failed to reach the postseason for the first time since winning it all in 2009. Once the dust settled from Derek Jeter’s dramatic final game in the major leagues, the time quickly came for the Yankees to look towards the future.
However, instead of enticing top free agents with their seemingly endless pocketbook, the Yankees headed in a different direction: rebuild.
Fast forward to today. Their rebuilding process is pushing the Yankees towards playoff contention faster than many expected. Their success this season is due in a large part to their slugging outfielder Aaron Judge.
Judge wowed the Yankees and the baseball world in the games leading up to the All-Star break, but now it is time to wow his team to the postseason. With the bar set plenty high, the Yankees are looking to their emerging superstar to remain consistent in the second half.
Leading up to the first All-Star selection of his young career, Judge batted .329, which is good for third in the American League. On top of that, he hit 30 homers to break Joe Dimaggio’s franchise record for home runs as a rookie, which he set in 1936 with 29. He also tops the league in OBP (.448), slugging percentage (.691) and OPS (1.139).
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Derby Curse
Although Judge’s success in the first half is a wonder to behold, his rookie season can easily be lost depending on how the year unfolds. Bobby Abreu and David Wright were in Judge’s shoes following their victorious goes at the Home Run Derby, but both went on to stumble through the final months of the season.
In 2005, Abreu propelled himself to 18 homers while batting .304 going into the All-Star break and showed no signs of slowing down. The following year, Wright clobbered 20 home runs in the first half with a .316 batting average.
Yet, both went on to hit less than 10 homers in the second half and for Abreu, his batting average dropped drastically. Whether their slumps were a result of the alleged “Derby curse”, this is the last thing the Yankees want to see from their young stud.
Furthermore, before seeing Judge at his best, the Yankees saw him at his worst in 2016. Following his debut in mid-August, Judge batted only .179 with just four home runs and 42 strikeouts in 27 games.
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And even though the Yankees are keeping pace in the playoff race, they lost serious ground before the All-Star break. Thanks to a seven-game losing streak and dropping 18 of their last 25 games, the Yankees are now 3.5 games back in the AL East and are barely hanging onto the top Wild Card spot. With their chances at reaching the postseason in jeopardy, it is essential for Judge to continue to swing the bat well and lead the Yankees with a strong second half.