Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees captain and former AL-MVP, is no longer the only dominant hitter in the Yankee lineup. 25-year-old generational superstar Juan Soto is walking toe-to-toe with the captain in terms of offensive numbers and overall fearful approach on the plate.
Hence, the rival pitchers are tasked to not only eliminate the threat of Aaron Judge but also to somehow keep Juan Soto quiet. Having said that, on the eve of the series finale against the White Sox, the Yankees captain made MLB history with a majestic three-run home run. However, despite the milestone, he was mad about the White Sox’s evasive approach.
Aaron Judge Debounces White Sox’s Intentional Walk To Juan Soto
New York Yankees captain and potent slugger Aaron Judge scripted league history by becoming the fastest hitter to reach 300 career home runs. The moment of glory came in the eighth inning of the series finale against the White Sox. With two runners off base, Judge slammed a three-run moonshot to bring up his career 300th home run in just 955 career games. He surpassed Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, who, in fact, achieved the milestone in 1,087 games. However, before the historic moment, the White Sox’s tactics to intentionally walk Juan Soto left the captain fuming. Regardless, Judge channeled the anger in the right direction to script history and further strengthen his status as one of MLB’s prodigious sluggers.
“I was mad about the intentional walk, so that kind of fueled,” Aaron Judge said on his 300 home run record. The Yankees captain acknowledged the great achievement and the Yankees’ 10-2 win over the White Sox acted as a cherry on top. Having said that, besides Juan Soto, the captain himself has been on the receiving end of the Barry Bonds treatment. He is leading the league in the intentional walk count this season, as pitchers are intimidated by his monstrous form and swing on the plate. While Judge let the trend pass initially, he admitted that when the frequency of such events increases, he needs to find a way to bat through it. “If they don’t want to pitch to you, you got to come through,” Aaron Judge said. Overall, irrespective of the intentional walk incident, the New York Yankees marked a positive end of the series with a 2-1 lead.
Aaron Boone Vouches For Tweaks In Intentional Walk Rule
This season, the New York Yankees have witnessed a surge in intentional walks being directed towards captain Aaron Judge which promoted Ricky Cobb to suggest a rule change. He opined that number of bases awarded to a hitter should increase with the number of intentional walks he receives during a particular season.
Interestingly, Aaron Boone, the New York Yankees skipper, agreed with Cobb’s idea. He added how it’s unfair that a team’s best hitter is stripped of his opportunity to play, take a swing, and guide his team to victories. Hence, Boone strongly opined that the intentional walk rule needs to change, and MLB has to do better to avoid such instances.
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