Will Aaron Judge Hit 62 Home Runs Again? ‘You Never Know.’

Down the stretch, as the Yankees nearly gave up an enormous division lead over the Tampa Bay Rays, Judge often felt like a one-man offense. Regardless, he continued to see pitches to hit for the most part, with his .380 batting average from Sept. 1 forward representing his best stretch of the year in that regard. But pitchers clearly started to work around him once he got to 60 home runs, and he proceeded to draw 18 walks and hit only two home runs over his final 14 games.

He then slumped in the playoffs, going 5 for 36 in nine games with two homers and 15 strikeouts.

A short slump after six months of domination is hardly anything to worry about, but teams forcing other Yankees batters to beat them, as they did in those final weeks of the season and as they did with Bonds in the years after his 73-homer outburst, could make it hard for Judge to drive balls in bulk. That would make another run at 60 home runs nearly impossible as the rare feat requires a combination of opportunity, consistency and success that few players have ever approached, let alone seen in consecutive seasons.

For Judge, in his first season as the team captain, a decline in his own production would be mitigated by the team doing the one thing it has yet to accomplish in his career: win a World Series.

“It bothers me, and I think it bothers the group as well,” Judge said of the Yankees having not won a championship since 2009. “Every year we don’t finish what we started it wears on us in different ways. I think every failure pushes you toward that ultimate goal.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/sports/baseball/aaron-judge-yankees.html