New York Yankees superstar slugger Aaron Judge is easily among the best in baseball today when it comes to getting on base. On Sunday, the Toronto Blue Jays helped the former American League Most Valuable Player boost his on base percentage, albeit in a way that didn't sit well with NY fans — and Juan Soto.
“It sucks. You want him at the plate. I’m doing my best to put him up and you see them pass him over,” Soto said about the Blue Jays intentionally walking Judge a total of three times in a 4-3 Yankees victory at home (h/t
Chris Kirschner of The Athletic).
“It just really makes me mad. I don’t like that. I want them to challenge him and see what he can really do. It is what it is. It’s part of the game. They’re trying to win too, so you respect that,” Soto added.
Judge finished the game just 1-for-2 with three walks. During his first at-bat, Judge struck out in the opening inning after a six-pitch battle against Blue Jays starter Yariel Rodriguez. In the third inning, Judge had his only hit of the contest, as he recorded a single off of Rodriguez.
When Rodriguez met Judge anew in the fifth inning, he intentionally walked the six-time All-Star after issuing a free pass to Soto. Judge was intentionally walked for the second time in the seventh frame by Genesis Cabrera. And with the score tied at 3-3, Judge was given a free pass to first base off of an intentional walk (for what would be his last plate appearance in the game) by Ryan Burr.
When Judge entered Sunday's series finale against the Blue Jays, his 2024 MLB regular season OBP was at .452. By the end of the contest, his OBP had risen to .456. At the time of this writing, Judge leads the majors in OBP. For what it's worth, Soto, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and two walks in the Blue Jays game, is second in the big leagues overall with a .437 OBP.
The Yankees are boasting a terrifying combo near the top of their batting order with Soto and Judge batting back-to-back, but the potential of that duo can be hampered by such tactics employed in the series finale by the Blue Jays.
New York had 14 runners left on base as well in the win over Toronto but was just 2-for-11 when there's at least a runner on. Giancarlo Stanton struggled under that situation with just a 0-for-3 line while DJ LeMahieu, Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Anthony Volpe, and Trent Grisham combined for just 2-f0r-7.
Fans react to Aaron Judge getting walked three times in Yankees vs. Blue Jays finale
“John Schneider is genuinely a bad manager. Refuses to walk Judge in a high leverage moment leading to a 2-run bomb and then walks him in the lowest leverage moment. Truly is one of the worst managers in Blue Jays history,” posted @BlueJays_WS.
“Call up Jasson Dominguez to lengthen the lineup, time to stop being cute,” suggested @changemyhandle1.
“I despise the Yankees, but for the life of me I can't figure out why they don't hit Judge in FRONT OF soto for protection. I feel like Soto needs the protection less,” wondered @Dave_Schoenfeld.
“Honestly if you’re considering intentionally walking a dude for a third time you should just bean him but hey not everyone has balls anymore,” said @HarrisRizvi.
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