Yankees: 3 Reasons Aaron Judge is Better Than Pete Alonso

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Aaron Judge of the Yankees is a better baseball player than Pete Alonso of the Mets. Both are good! Judge is better.

Sorry to get all “controversial” on you on a Summer afternoon, but I have a bit of late-breaking news for New York Mets fans. The iconic, hulking Yankees right fielder who’s somehow also one of the best defensive players in baseball is better than the brawny first baseman who broke his rookie record with the help of the superball in 2019.

It’s ok! Pete Alonso is great! Would love to have him. But Aaron Judge’s natural ability is on another level. Happy to lay out exactly why.

This is not a diss track. It’s just…factual. I challenge a Mets fan to write this piece in the opposite direction.

NOTE: Please don’t “The Best Ability is Availability” me — it’s simply not true. Stephen Drew is “available” right now. You want him?

3. Aaron Judge’s Arm

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Aaron Judge’s exemplary arm separates him from Pete Alonso.

Aaron Judge separates himself from your average ballplayer in so many ways, but it must be noted that his arm is a certified weapon that completely changes this conversation.

Ranked the third-best outfield arm in the game by The Athletic in 2019, Judge saved eight runs with his rocket in ’18, and allowed only a 39% advance rate on base hits to right, the best in the game over the course of his career (league average is 49%).

Judge can pick it, sure, but in the late innings, when every base counts, his hose is undeniably impactful.

It’s not Pete Alonso’s fault that he plays first base and not right field. But Judge innovates on the position with his natural ability, and Alonso merely caretakes.

2. Aaron Judge’s OBP

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Aaron Judge has perfect on-base skills for a modern MLB star.

Pete Alonso is a “grip it and rip it” slugger torn from the front page of a 1998 sports section. Aaron Judge is like if that same front page went to Billy Beane’s Moneyball academy.

Though neither player is particularly averse to the strikeout (Alonso whiffed 183 times last year, and Judge managed 208 in his last full season), Judge sacrifices far less in terms of both average and OBP to hit his home runs.

Alonso hit .260 with a .358 OBP in his rookie year, which is nice, but Judge routinely hits for a higher average, and posts OBPs well over 100 points above his batting average, indicating he’s much more adept at finding first base by any means necessary. In his breakout 2017 campaign, Judge hit .284 and got on base at a remarkable .422 clip — clearly, his strikeouts were not for naught that year.

In his last two campaigns, Judge has been on a similar pace (.278 and .392 in 2018, .272 and .381 in 2019).

Once again, it’s simple if you want it to be: Alonso good, Judge better. It’s right there in the digits.

1. Aaron Judge’s WAR and Defense

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees (R) and Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees (L) celebrate (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /

Aaron Judge is a defensive game-saver, and it shows in his WAR totals.

For all the hoopla surrounding Alonso in 2019, Judge has been more valuable in every single season in his big league career.

In 2019, metrics state he was more valuable in 102 games than Alonso was in an entire season, out-WARing him 5.5 to 5.2.

Why? D-Fense. Hoo, hoo.

Last season, Alonso’s play at first base failed to even reach the threshold for “average” — his 5.7 offensive WAR (per Baseball Reference) was counteracted by his -1.3 dWAR. A replacement first baseman, in theory, would be more helpful than Pete Alonso with the leather.

Conversely, Judge was worth a career-best 1.7 dWAR, even in an interrupted season.

This passes the eye test, too. Judge’s hulking body covers ground he has no business reaching throughout the season in right field. When he approaches the wall, he need not jump in order to properly barricade it. If Jeffrey Maier tried his funny business on Judge, he likely would’ve been blocked out like a lunar eclipse.

In conclusion, we’re sorry, Mets fans, but a right fielder who can do the things Judge routinely does at his size is a more valuable player than the latest in a long line of slugging first basemen.

dark. Next. Revisiting NYY's 2013 Aaron Judge Draft

All the metrics agree.

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