New York Yankees captain and star slugger, Aaron Judge, took a stand against the MLB rankings and shared his thoughts.
Aaron Judge is the star of New York after his glorious 2022 season. He has earned every honor that exists in Major League Baseball and even put his contention for the future Hall of Famer. Despite personal glory, Judge’s ultimate dream of winning the World Championship title for the Yankees remains unfulfilled. Hence, this season, as the newly minted captain of the organization, Judge has his eyes set on the ultimate mission.
Aaron Judge has already begun pursuing the ultimate goal in the right direction. In 10 games, he’s scored four home runs and nine RBIs with a batting average of .333. He picked up from where he left with the bat and is posied of recreating the 62 home run season, irrespective of the standard projections. Meanwhile, a few recent MLB rankings have irked the slugger who decided to call it out.
“99 Percent Of The Time, They’re Wrong,” Says Aaron Judge On MLB Rankings
Owing to Aaron Judge’s startling numbers from last season, most of the MLB rankings ranked him amongst the top 10 current players of the league. However, the slugger is instead irked by it. In an interview with Chris Kirschner of the Athletic, he called out the rankings and said he does not pay any heed to them. Judge believes the rankings prove to be bogus most of the time. However, the one reason which actually riled up the slugger is the exclusion of his fellow Yankee teammate, Gerrit Cole. The outfielder stated that Gerrit deserves a place in the top rankings.
Aaron Judge elaborated, saying even if Cole is not the best pitcher in the league right now, he at least deserves a spot in the top three. Cole has been the best starter for the Yankees for years now and shows up every year without any injury concerns. Hence, Judge strongly believes that excluding Gerrit from the rankings is extremely bizarre. He alleged that the rankings are devised by mindless people who haven’t played the game ever in their life. Well, Judge’s arguments are not entirely false. Cole has been one of MLB’s best starters for a few years now. He even opened up the market for pitchers when he signed an over $300 million contract with the Bombers. Hence, these rankings certainly do not justify his potential.
Judge Unlikely To Win AL-MVP This Season
Speaking of the rankings and projections, Aaron Judge popped up in another controversial one. According to the latest predictions, Aaron Judge will unlikely retain his AL-MVP status this year. Last season, his record-breaking home run season earned him his first major league MVP. However, the table would likely turn in 2023. Judge will face tough competition from Angeles all-rounder Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani, a traditional pitcher, has transformed into a terrific hitter in a couple of seasons. Even in 2022, he lost the MVP award to Aaron Judge by a whisker and looked visibly dejected. Hence, this year, Othani will reclaim his title. Othani’s all-around skills give him an edge over Judge, who is basically a hitter. Regardless, baseball is a game of uncertainty, and the predictions can fall flat if the players are not in form.
