Yankees Aaron Judge is already superior to Red Sox’s Ted Williams

You Gotta Support the Team

That might not seem like much, the difference between a walk and a single, but think back to Tuesday’s WC game.

By the bottom of the first, the Yankees were down by three. Brett Gardner works a walk. Up steps Aaron Judge. On a three-two count, Santana throws a ball clearly down and away. Judge could have taken a walk, putting a man on first and second.

That’s a good outcome. It’s what Williams would have done. But it is not necessarily the best outcome for the team.

Instead, Judge reached across the plate and poked a single into center. That allowed Gardy to move to third, with no outs. The ramifications were felt all over the stadium.

As Easy as One, Two, Three

It gave the Yankees their first hit in this do or die game. That is always a huge psychological barrier for a team, especially for a young team in a playoff game. It also gave Judge his first hit; just re-read the part about how it affects the team and insert, “player”.

Next, it put a man on third. That tends to unnerve pitchers a lot more than just being on second. They know that any mistake plates a runner. That’s the type of pressure you want to put on an opposing pitcher, especially one with a history of failure.

Think back to the 2009 World Series. Johnny Damon virtually ensured the Yankees would score a run just by standing on third.

Finally, it brought the crowd back to life. They were happy with the walk, but down by three runs, they needed to see someone hit the ball to start believing this team could come back; Judge did all that.