It happened with Barry Bonds; now it’s happening with Aaron Judge.
The only difference is that the famed San Francisco Giants slugger was intentionally walked with men on base. Judge is being walked with the bases empty and two outs. Coming into Tuesday, Judge was slashing .322/.456/.701 with 41 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a 1.157 OPS.
Judge has now been walked 92 times on the season, which is the third-highest in any season in his MLB career. And Being that the Yankees have 49 games left to play, it would be surprising if the 32-year-old Judge didn’t pass the 127 walks he was issued in 2017 — his rookie season in the Bronx.
The Yankees only have so many hitters that can beat you, so taking Judge out of the equation seems like a sound idea. That’s what Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider did over the weekend. Needless to say, it hasn’t been well received by the Bronx Bombers or those associated with the organization.
In fact, Yankees play-by-play voice Michael Kay called the move “weird” on his radio show Monday.
Hour 1: @RealMichaelKay mentions how the MLB needs new intentional BB rules and the Gleyber Torres benching.
LISTEN: https://t.co/GOUByYwK4T pic.twitter.com/S1etuAHWTx
— The Michael Kay Show (@TMKSESPN) August 5, 2024
“It’s one of the flaws right now in baseball if you look at it,” began Kay. “So, Aaron Judge was intentionally walked three times (Sunday). Now, I’m surprised that more teams don’t do it, but the way John Schneider did it, to me, was very odd, very weird. There didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason. It’s like when the spirit moved him, they walked him. So, in Saturday’s game, after he hit a home run in the first inning…the Blue Jays uncovered a little bit of a blueprint for other teams.
“I’m amazed, even though Austin Wells, batting behind him, has done very well, I’m just amazed that anybody pitches to Judge. But intentional walks? That’s a little bit odd for me. Don’t you want to try to get him out? But here’s my point about the flaw in baseball: in the past, what made baseball great is the strategy. An intentional walk here, pitch around the guy there, you’re just trying to outthink the other team to offset whatever advantage they might have.
“So, you intentionally walk Aaron Judge three times. Now, I’m not saying John Schneider did anything wrong. I think it was weird when he did them; it didn’t make much sense. Why would you walk him? When you walked him on Saturday with two outs and nobody on in the second inning, that’s the first time that had happened in baseball since 1972, to have a guy (intentionally) walked in the first or second inning with two outs and nobody on. First time since 1972, so, 52 years ago…This time they walk Judge and Austin Wells was next.
“So, consider this everybody. There was 43,000 at the stadium (on Sunday) and however hundreds of thousands that watched it on YES or listened on radio. And many of them tune into Yankee baseball or buy tickets to go to the stadium to see Aaron Judge hit, right? That was taken away from them three times. Think about this: you go to an NBA game, Steph Curry and the Warriors are playing the Knicks, and Tom Thibodeau goes, ‘OK, Curry can’t get the ball.’ It’s not about playing defense. It’s not like they pitch to Curry, like if you pitched outside to Judge and maybe he chased — he cannot get the ball. And the rules would allow him not to get the ball. Incomprensible, right? That you’d take the star out of the biggest situation, which is exactly what John Schneider did.
“Imagine going to a football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the other coach goes, ‘You know what? Patrick Mahomes can’t touch the ball in the fourth quarter. It’s not allowed.’ And that was actually a part of the game; you’d be red-hot. And I’ve always said that one of the things that baseball has to consider is that in the ninth inning of a close game, it could be the bottom of the order. In the biggest moment of the game in the NBA, LeBron’s having the ball in his hands; Jalen Brunson’s having the ball in his hands; Curry’s having the ball in his hands. In the biggest moment of the baseball game, you might not see Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.
“I’ve always said, ‘Let’s really get funky here.’ In the ninth inning, you get to recalibrate and send up the three batters you want. ‘Alright, I want to send up (Anthony) Volpe, Soto and Judge.’ Then, you have a chance. Then, you’re gonna see your best players…in the biggest moments with the game on the line. Baseball should consider something like that. I know they’re loathed to change because it’s almost biblical, baseball. Other sports, they change rules constantly. Baseball, it takes an act of Congress — and we know how Congress works — so it takes forever.”
Be careful, Michael; Colin Cowherd already tried to make that argument – and failed miserably.
“The people that went to Yankee Stadium…they wanted to see Aaron Judge hit,” Kay added. “Three times they were denied that because they just pointed to first base. They don’t even throw four pitches anymore…Pete Walker, the pitching coach, told Joel Sherman, who wrote it in The Post today, ‘I think other teams are gonna do this.’ And that’s gonna really stink for baseball because you’re literally taking the bat (out of the hands) of one of the most special players you’ll ever see. I don’t know how it can be. It’s part of the strategy, I get it, but it stinks.
“In no other sport can you actually remove the best player and say, ‘He can’t play anymore.'”
Is Kay suggesting rule changes simply because the Yankees are being impacted?
His argument makes sense, but it’s also a bit misleading. While it’s undoubtedly less exciting to see Judge have the bat removed from his hands in a big spot, you just can’t compare baseball to other sports. Unlike basketball or football, baseball’s unique structure gives the defense constant possession, so directly equating the intentional walk to taking the ball away from a star in other sports is flawed in itself.
We can agree that strategic decisions are a cornerstone of baseball. At the same time, the intentional walk of a generational talent like Judge pushes the boundaries of entertainment. As the sport evolves, finding a balance between strategy and fan satisfaction is undoubtedly crucial to its long-term health. But we’re not so sure completely rewriting the rules of baseball to get Judge up in the ninth inning is the right answer.
