Despite Postseason Heroics, Aaron Judge Still Working Out the Kinks at the Plate

Yankee great Reggie Jackson tries to decode rookie phenom's struggles in the batter's box.

Aaron Judge Sets Single-Season Strikeout Record
Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees walks in the dugout after striking out in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on July 9, 2017 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Look, we’re not going to sit here and, er, judge Aaron Judge—who took home the single-season rookie home run record and the Home Run Derby crown—but his postseason numbers so far speak for themselves.

For the entire postseason—which includes a wild-card game, five American League Division Series games, and four American League Championship Series games—the rookie phenom is just 7-for-37, batting a paltry .189, with just a trio of home runs. He’s also struck out 22 times, which for the guy who has the single-season strikeout record, is par for the course.

Given that Judge has seemingly only connected with mistake pitches, The New York Times addresses the elephant in the room: “Can Judge hit a good pitcher on that pitcher’s good day?” The young slugger has had no trouble in the batting cages before games, but it’s ultimately what happens during game-play that counts. Part of his in-game issues have to do with mechanics, says Yankee great Reggie Jackson, but the key, he feels, is lack of experience: “Players like Judge and Gary Sanchez, they don’t even have a thousand at-bats under their belt. …When I got to this stage, I’d already had a lot more. I was ready.”

When Mr. October appeared in his first ALCS in 1971, he’d had over 2,000 at-bats.

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