New York Yankees: What To Expect From Aaron Judge This Year
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was phenomenal last year. What should they expect from him in 2018?
Aaron Judge is entering his second season with the New York Yankees. While he made a great impact, he did have struggles, which is common for rookies. All it means is that he’s still learning, meaning he’s got much more to learn, and much more to improve on.
His statistical numbers last season were very good. He was named American League’s Rookie of the Month for the first three months of the season, as well as September. He was the winner of last season’s AL Rookie of the Year award and Silver Slugger award. He was also crowned the 2017 Home Run Derby Champion and was also the AL’s home run leader. His efforts also earned him a spot in the All-Star game, where he amassed almost five million votes.
Judge broke a number of records last season. He hit 33 home runs at home breaking Babe Ruth‘s record of 32. His 52 home runs for the season are the most by a Yankees rookie, breaking the previous record of 29 that was held by Joe DiMaggio. That’s also a record for most home runs by a rookie in MLB history, breaking the previous record of 49 that was held by Mark McGwire. He’s the first right-handed hitter in Yankees history with at least 100 runs-batted-in, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks in a season. His 127 walks last season are the most ever by a rookie.
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Our biggest expectation for him this season is for him to find a way to drop his high rate of striking out. That was his biggest struggle last season. His struggles with striking out broke numerous records. His 208 strikeouts a Yankees franchise records, as well as an MLB record. Last season, Judge at one point struck out in 37 straight games, which also set a record. Finally, in the playoffs last season, Judge had the most strikeouts with 27, giving him the record of most sombreros in post-season play since 1903.
Other than that, we can expect him to pick up where he left off when it comes to his unique hitting power. However, he needs to be healthy. Last November, he underwent shoulder surgery on his left shoulder. According to MLB.com’s Lindsay Berra, the operation involved a cartilage clean-up.
Judge, himself, has stated that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. Aaron Boone, the manager of the New York Yankees stated that the club has no need to push Judge this spring training. In Judge’s case, it’d be much better for him to miss games in spring training than to miss any regular season games. The Yankees will open their season against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 29th in Toronto in a four-game series.