New York Mets pitcher Luis Severino touched a nerve earlier this season when he teased the New York Yankees about their top-heavy lineup. In a group chat with his former teammates, he joked about how they "only have two good hitters," namely Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. It turns out, he was wrong.
Judge and Soto aren't the only two good hitters in pinstripes. Because Aaron Judge doesn't qualify as a good hitter at the moment.
In the playoffs so far, Judge has played far below the high standard he set for himself during an MVP-level regular season. His performance at the plate in the World Series has been even worse.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop between now and the MLB offseason.
Aaron Judge's World Series strikeout problem is only growing
In Game 1, Judge struck out three times. It was clear he was pressing, trying too hard to make a play. Game 2 was a carbon copy. He again struck out three times while hitting a pop fly to go 0-for-4.
Going into Game 2, Judge was batting .167/.304/.361. He'd struck out 16 times in 10 games. Make that 19 times in 11 games now.
This isn't just a 2024 issue either. Judge is 2-for-38 with runners in scoring position in the postseason going back to 2018.
Since 2018, Aaron Judge has two hits with RISP in the postseason in 38 trips to the plate. https://t.co/ZzQtyEKTYF
— Ryan Garcia (@RyanGarciaESM) October 27, 2024
The Yankees and Dodgers were considered relatively evenly matched because of their comparable lineups. The star power of LA's Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman can't be matched by most teams in baseball, but the Yankees could go toe-to-toe with Judge, Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.
New York has gotten impact moments from Soto and Stanton. The former hit a home run in Game 2. The latter went deep in Game 1, his fourth consecutive postseason game with a homer. Those are the two good hitters for the Yankees at the moment. So, it's only Judge who hasn't come up big so far. If NY wants any chance at winning this series, that needs to change.