The New York Yankees have been fortunate enough to enjoy 51 home runs by a single player this year. Aaron Judge, even after not going yard in any of his last 15 games, still leads the league in the stat by a significant margin.
However, when a team ceases to get consistent production from its main power source for a stretch of games, it suffers. Inevitably. So, with Judge failing to go deep for 15 games, should the Yankees be worried that there is something wrong with him at the moment?
First, let’s see what he thinks about the situation, courtesy of the New York Post:
“It’s just baseball,” he said before the Yankees walked off the Royals on Wednesday. “I’m feeling fine and the results will be there.”
The 15 homer-less games match a career-high, which is certainly jaw-dropping considering the fact that the tough stretch is coming in a year he has hit 51 round-trippers and leads the league. But the captain is right; there should be nothing to worry about.
The Yankees star has shown the ability to bounce back before
If you remember how he started the year, you wouldn’t be worried either. Judge, for all his early-April struggles, finished the month with a .811 OPS and then proceeded to post a 1.397 mark in May with a whopping 14 home runs. This is an elite player capable of busting out of his slump in impressive fashion, as he has demonstrated time and time again during his incredible career.
So, the short answer is no. The Yankees, or fans for that matter, shouldn’t be worried about a 15-game stretch when he has hit .320 with 51 long balls and a league-leading 126 RBI over another brilliant season. Even with his current stretch, Judge is on his way to his second AL MVP award in the last three seasons, showing the world that he is the most dominant hitter in the American League.
