Aaron Judge’s giant value to Yankees is undeniable
Aaron Judge stepped out of the Yankee Stadium dugout and toward the batting cage, speaking softly and carrying a very big stick. Judge might appear huge on TV, but to see him live on the field is to remember that at 6-foot-7, 282 pounds, he is five inches taller and 67 pounds heavier than the giant whose presence filled the old ballpark like no other: Babe Ruth.
The Bambino is Phil Rizzuto compared to Aaron Judge. In fact, when Judge chatted with 6-2, 195-pound Aaron Boone behind the cage Friday, the Yankees manager looked about the size of a summer intern getting ready to wrap things up and head back to college.
Judge is the ultimate larger-than-life slugger, and the Yankees are going to have to pay him a ton of money next season, in his final year of arbitration, or in a long-term deal to keep him away from free agency in 2023. But yes, they need to keep the 29-year-old outfielder the face of the franchise for the rest of his prime.
You can find players around baseball who look or play like everyone on the Yankees roster, even one or two who match up with Gerrit Cole. Not Judge. There’s no replacing him. If you’re looking for another Judge, you need to walk into an NBA or NFL locker room. He is taller and heavier than pro football’s most recognizable freak, Rob Gronkowski, and athletic enough to play center field, as he did Friday night against the Orioles.
Consider the size of some of the center-field greats who helped shape Yankee mythology. Joe DiMaggio was 6-2, 193. Mickey Mantle was 5-11, 195. Bernie Williams, who performed the pregame national anthem on his guitar, was 6-2, 180 during the Yankees’ most recent dynasty.
Judge, the team’s usual right fielder, was assigned to play the position that puts a premium on speed and grace for the 18th time this year, while carrying 32 more pounds than the Knicks’ heaviest player, Julius Randle. Before the game started, Judge was favored to make it look a lot easier than it could ever be in The Bronx.
Judge has made everything seem easy of late. He hit .500 on the Yankees’ just-completed road trip. He had reached base safely in 23 of his past 24 games entering this Orioles series, and batted .398 with eight homers and 24 RBIs over that period. His OPS of 1.013 since the All-Star break is the best in the American League among hitters who have played in at least 30 games in that span.
“I think it’s partly his experience now of taking away some strengths of the opposing pitcher,” Boone said the other night. “When you’re a great player and are able to do that, I think you put a little extra fear into the pitcher, and probably net yourself some extra mistakes. But I just feel like his experience is starting to show.
“I just think his plans have gone to another level.”
Next Level Judge owned a batting average of .300 (he has never finished a season above .284), 30 home runs and 75 RBI entering Friday. Those numbers were expected to head north against the ghastly Orioles, whose pitchers had surrendered eight homers to the Yankees’ signature slugger.
Of course, Judge’s ability to impose his considerable will on pitchers is relevant only because he has stayed on the field and in the batter’s box. After playing 155 games in 2017, his Rookie of the Year season, Judge played only 112 games in 2018 and 102 in 2019, before playing 28 of 60 last year. This season, even with time spent on the COVID-19 list, Judge is already at 120 games and counting. He said he has stayed healthy by avoiding any reckless dashes into outfield walls “or doing some stupid stuff out there that causes injuries.”
Good health, plus better plate discipline, equals a monstrous challenge for aces and closers alike. It’s quite possible baseball has never seen a hitter with this package of size, skill, athleticism, and power. Back in the day, 6-7 Frank Howard strung together three consecutive seasons of 40-plus homers and 100-plus RBIs, but he was 27 pounds lighter than Judge, with half the mobility. Howard made 923 appearances in left field, and 533 in right, yet never once played center in his distinguished 16-year career.
But Friday night, there was oversized number 99 in pinstripes racing out there to take his spot in the heart of the outfield. At the end of the road trip, in Anaheim, Calif., Judge said of his recent performance: “I wouldn’t say it’s anything to write home about yet.”
Almost every time Aaron Judge shows up at the ballpark, it’s worth writing home about. He is the Yankees’ giant in every literal and figurative sense.
