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When Barry Bonds was at the height of his power as a hitter, he used to draw more intentional walks than any player in Major League Baseball. The opponents’ mindset was simple: we will give you first base because we do not want you hitting the ball 500 feet.
While it is not quite at that level, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is starting to get a taste of that treatment this season. And it’s not sitting well with some of the Yankees or the people covering the team.
During Sunday’s 4-3 win against the Toronto Blue Jays, Judge was intentionally walked three times to give him a league-leading 11 intentional walks on the season. The Blue Jays accounted for four of those over the weekend. His teammate, Juan Soto, was critical of the Blue Jays’ approach after the game saying that it makes him “mad” that they were not challenging Judge.
Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay went a step further during his radio show this week and pondered if Major League Baseball should make some dramatic rule changes to avoid an opponent’s ability to essentially “remove” the best player from the game.
“I’ve always said, ‘Let’s really get funky here.’ In the ninth inning, you get to recalibrate and send up the three batters you want. ‘Alright, I want to send up (Anthony) Volpe, Soto and Judge.’ Then, you have a chance. Then, you’re gonna see your best players…in the biggest moments with the game on the line.”
That is about as extreme of a rule change proposal as it gets, and it reeks of sour grapes. This is even weirder when one considers that the Yankees won both games over the weekend.
The reality is that teams choosing to intentionally walk a hitter is a part of baseball, and one of the few in-game strategic decisions that is still a major part of the game.
In the case of Judge, it is probably smart and something more teams should do. Judge is having another incredible season at the plate and he not only has a chance to win another American League MVP award, but he has a chance to break his own American League home run record. He single-handedly changes games. Putting him on first base at every opportunity is probably a better bet than letting him get his swings.
That’s especially true if the Yankees are going to hit Austin Wells behind him in the batting order as they have been. That, more than anything, has contributed to the intentional walks. There is nobody hitting behind Judge that teams fear, and it would be almost nonsensical to pitch to him when they could take their chances with a career .240 hitter behind him.
If the Yankees want teams to challenge Judge, they should give them a reason to be fearful of what is in the lineup behind him.
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