With the regular season coming to a close, Aaron Judge locked up the American League batting title with ease.
A first-time batting champ, Judge ended up with a major league-leading .331 average after going 1-for-4 in Sunday’s win over the Orioles. Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson and the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette, who is stuck on the injured list, finished in a distant second with .311 averages.
“I’m just trying to do my job,” Judge said of his title. “That’s what it comes down to, especially with this team. The guys we went out and got, getting [Cody] Bellinger, getting [Paul] Goldschmidt, seeing what Ben Rice has done all year, I just gotta get on base for those guys and find a way to drive the ball any way I can and let them do the rest.”
Judge joins a long list of Bombers batting champs that includes Babe Ruth (1924), Lou Gehrig (1934), Joe DiMaggio (1939-1940), Snuffy Stirnweiss (1945), Mickey Mantle (1956), Don Mattingly (1984), Paul O’Neill (1994), Bernie Williams (1998) and, most recently, DJ LeMahieu.
“I already got a text from my guy DJ LeMahieu, which was pretty cool,” Judge said of his former teammate, who was designated for assignment earlier this season.
Aaron Boone, meanwhile, commemorated Judge’s feat with a baseball and told him that he’s now in the same company as prolific contact hitters like Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew and Wade Boggs.
“Those are legends of the game who will be talked about forever,” Judge said, “so getting a chance to be with that group is something I don’t take lightly.”
“I know it’s meaningful to him,” Boone added.
At 6-7, Judge is the tallest batting champ in major league history. Prior to him, the tallest batting champs had all been 6-5. That list includes three Hall of Famers in Dave Parker (1977-1978), Frank Thomas (1997) and Joe Mauer (2006, 2008 and 2009), as well as John Olerud (1993) and Derrek Lee (2005).
“I’m not trying to go out and break any mold,” Judge recently said of becoming the tallest batting champ, adding that he never thought he’d contend for a title growing up. “I’ve got a job to do. Especially playing for the Yankees, I gotta go out there and get on base as many times as I can, drive guys in as many times as I can.”
Judge isn’t your typical batting champ in other ways, as he also finished the season with 53 home runs. He is just the third player in MLB history to hit 50 or more homers and win a batting title, joining Mantle (1956) and Jimmie Foxx (1938).
“Nothing Aaron Judge does surprises me,” Boone said when asked about Judge, known for his power, competing for a batting title. “I don’t put anything past 99. He’s playing like an all-time great.”
Judge also totaled 114 RBI, a 1.145 OPS and a 205 wRC+ this season. He managed to post those numbers in spite of being victimized by more low strike calls on should-be balls than anyone else in the majors, a product of his towering stature.
“The more impressive thing is to be as refined and as accomplished a hitter as he is at that size,” Boone said. “The reality is, just over time, you haven’t seen that many really tall people be great hitters. There’s a great advantage if you can figure it out and become a good hitter because you have strength and leverage that smaller guys don’t. But it is a testament to how good he is at his craft.”
Boone added that Judge has gotten “incrementally better” at controlling the strike zone. Teammates, meanwhile, have noted that opponents pitch to him with extreme caution and precision, either refusing to give him many pitches to hit or locking in so that they can execute to the best of their ability.
“The consistency is incredible,” Max Fried said. “Every game that he plays, everyone’s giving their best stuff to him every single day. And the consistency and discipline that he’s able to have, not taking an at-bat off and making sure that he’s doing everything that he can, his ability to lock in, it’s extremely impressive.”
Judge’s numbers have him in contention for his second straight MVP Award and third overall. Boone called Judge this year’s “clear-cut MVP,” though Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh is a serious threat following his own historic season.
Judge nearly won batting titles in his first two MVP seasons, but he lost steam while chasing the American League’s single-season home run record in 2022 and came in second behind former Twin Luis Arraez (.316 to .311). Last year, Judge placed third with a .322 average. Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. hit .332, while Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit .323.
In the National League, Philadelphia’s Trea Turner won his second batting title with a .304 average. He edged out Chicago’s Nico Hoerner (.297) and Los Angeles’ Freddie Freeman (.295).
Perhaps one of those hitters will see Judge in the World Series, as he is far more focused on winning a championship than any individual accolade with the Yankees now set for a Wild Card matchup against the Red Sox.
However, Judge will have to improve on his .205 postseason average — he has eight homers but a .160 average and a .648 OPS over his last 31 playoff games — if the Yankees hope to win the Fall Classic.
If he doesn’t, he will hear the same scrutiny he did last year as the Yankees advanced to the World Series and ultimately lost to the Dodgers in five games. Boone, however, doesn’t think the noise has weighed on Judge in the past.
The skipper doesn’t expect that to change now.
“The thing about Aaron that he’s so good at is the grind of this game and the everyday nature of it, and dealing with inevitable highs and lows, good days, struggles,” Boone said. “He lives it well, the grind, which you’ve gotta be able to do in this sport, because it is a game of failure.
“The guys that have massive success tend to stay off that roller coaster.”
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