Six Yankees do what they must in order find greatness

Yankees Future is Now

The 2016 version of Aaron Judge looked more likely to be a bust rather than the best young player in baseball. But that’s what the 2017 version looks like. He is not just mashing; he is hitting. And he is running the bases well and making great plays in the outfield, and no one runs on his right arm.

This is not the player we saw with the Yankees last year.

Like Hicks, the first and perhaps most important reason for the 2017 version of Judge is hard work. You don’t go from striking out in half of your AB’s to a slash of .344/.450/.718 without a lot of labor. Developing his Jeterian, inside-out swing to be able to hammer inside pitches is an example of just one adjustment, as is keeping his bat in the zone longer. He has commented on both changes.

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Another big reason has to be just getting used to the league. Many players are a bit overwhelmed when they get to The Show. And we have seen enough of Judge’s, aw-schucks, no sleep ‘til Mayberry personality to imagine just how intimidated he must have felt. But I think the biggest cause for his improvement is a different mental challenge.

And I will take Aaron Judge as my source. He said in an early season article after his first week struggles were over and he was mashing by May, that he was not aggressive enough. His patience was not the issue as he had already reduced the K’s, but he was not doing any damage. Judge was getting his pitch but taking tentative swings.

Don’t Ya Know

It reminds me of Robby, Robinson Cano, in his first three years. He would do phenomenal damage during the regular season but become a singles hitter with a low average in the playoffs. Cano would later say he was just trying to make contact. But, after a conversation with A-Rod, Cano changed his focus from making contact to doing damage.

It seems like Judge had the same conversation with himself. The results have the fans yelling incredibly premature MVP chants.

Next: How Aaron Judge is Already Impacting the Legacy of Mickey Mantle

Yankees and Yankees fans are thrilled with the changes that Judge, and all these players, have made. Each had a unique challenge, and it took each player to recognize those problems and be able, and willing, to solve them. What has made this season so spectacular is that so many players are all maximizing their potential at the same time.

I have a theory about how to fix Masahiro Tanaka but not even you would read that article, and you’ll read anything. That’s on you.