Yankees/ Red Sox I: Pitching, Power, And The Coming Pun-Pocalypse

Aaron Judge has a Career Accomplishment in one Night

The Yankees want to win every game; who doesn’t? Or they at least want to win all the important games en route to a World Series victory. We call that Jetering. And the players want to play great every day. They want to see big numbers on the stat sheet and a lot of W’s in the season tally. Do that enough times, and a player can win many awards, perhaps even enshrinement into the Hall of Fame.

Again, we call that Jetering.

There is, however, an accomplishment even higher than those. And it is one that few players, ever HoF players, ever attain: Forcing your enemy to respect you. It’s one thing to beat a team; it’s another to make them cheer you on for doing so. And you only do that by earning their respect. When you do that, win the respect of your opponent and their fans, you create in them a troubling dichotomy.

Every time you hit a big home run or make a spectacular play in the field, it hurts their team. It drives a stake through the heart of their championship dreams. But somewhere in that same heart is always a small part that roots for you, the enemy, to do well against their team because of their reverence towards you.

That is an accomplishment that is best summed up with one adjective: Delicious.

But most players never attain that status because you cannot get it by just playing great. Take the Red Sox fans. They have seen better players than you’ll ever be. Babe Ruth used to be their best pitcher and hitter. Yaz won a Triple Crown before their eyes.  And they watched the surly Splendid Splinter hit .406 in heroic fashion.

So unless you are willing to dive into the stands to catch a pop-up, you know who I mean, then you are not going to get their real respect (Sox fans saw that one on TV, but they definitely saw it).

Feel Free to Use “Jetering”

That does not mean they won’t appreciate your play and any great plays you make. The Sox faithful know who Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone are and they begrudgingly admit of the greatness in the all-time moment each man provided. But they hit those highlight shots without any blood on their socks, so they are just going to have to wait if they want real respect from Fenway fans.

Aaron Judge, in his first game at Fenway, already earned the respect of Red Sox players and fans. When he sent his massive frame ass over teacups, his dedication and willingness to sacrifice his body forced the grudging esteem of all the fans in both New York and New England. Years after his opposite field shot, and the importance of this game have been forgotten, Judge’s play will be remembered, re-shown, and respected.

That’s something that even some of the best Yankees never did. And Judge did it in game one. That means that every time he plays the Sawx, and every time he hits a big home run to crush their dreams, a part of each beating New Englander’s heart will applaud his actions. There ought to be a Hall of Fame just for that.

However, Judge’s great start to the season and highlight home runs are creating a real problem for the Yankees and all of baseball. And that is the very real fear of the coming Pun-Pocalypse.