The New York Yankees had a very disappointing finish to the last season. Moreover, the fans initially wanted to contend for the World Series. But the way things finished was nothing short of a tremendous shame. The NY side finished with an awful 82-80 record. They were only barely successful in maintaining the streak of winning seasons. Nevertheless, the 2023 season for the Bronx Bombers was their worst year in the last 32 years. The 27-time champions had the second-worst batting average, only better than the nine-time World champions, the Oakland Athletics. Hence, they needed to bring reinforcements. That’s what they did this offseason.
Moreover, the Yankees signed Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres. Now, the NY side have two superstar hitters in their roster – Aaron Judge and Juan Soto. Last season, the Yankees learnt how risky it is to have only one superstar slugger. The Yankees captain suffered because of a severe toe injury that made him miss 35 games on the trot. Moreover, Aaron Judge’s absence was a big blow to the NY side. But for the upcoming season, the captain wants to stay healthy throughout the year and have a far better season.
Aaron Judge Hopes For A Better Year
Prior to the 2023 season, the Yankees captain came off a superb season. He had won the American League MVP in 2022. But the freak accident at the Los Angeles Dodgers fence affected his season last year. However, Judge was having a great season in 2023 as well, until he hurt his toe. Anyway, the AL 2022 MVP will be looking for redemption in 2024. Moreover, he should be the first to know that he must tweak some part of his game to be a more appropriate choice for the MVP this year. Last year, in 106 games, Judge slugged 35 home runs, hence, the power was there.
However, in 2023, Aaron Judge had one of the lowest fWAR in his career so far. Moreover, he had a pretty high strikeout numbers with 28.4%. The last time it got so high was back in 2019 – it was as high as 31%. Moreover, the Yankees captain had the lowest batting average of his career, excepting the 2020 (COVID) season. Judge in 2020 played only 28 games. Overall, teams had to play 60 games that year. But Aaron Judge lately indicated that he thinks about the stats and he wants to improve them this year.
Where The Yankees Captain Must Improve?
The New York Yankees need their captain at his best to hope for winning the World Series. But last year, Aaron Judge proved that he still had the power to hit the balls out of the park. However, his baserunning and fielding run values were hovering around average. But he had one of the best percentiles in terms of earning walks in the league. Moreover, the Outs Above Average number of the Yankees captain was below average for the first time in his career.
As per Baseball Savant, Aaron Judge previously had the lowest OAA in 2021 when it hit zero. But in 2023, his OAA hit the negatives. On the other hand, Judge’s Defensive Runs Saved numbers were not better than the OAA numbers either. Hence, the Yankees captain clearly has some work to do to improve in those areas.
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