Teams are simply deciding not to pitch to New York Yankees star Aaron Judge.
In the middle of another historic season, Judge continues to impress. On Saturday, he smoked a two-run home run in the first inning —his 41st of the season — against the Toronto Blue Jays to give the Yankees an early 2-1 lead.
When Judge came up for his second at-bat in the bottom of the second inning, the Blue Jays decided to give the Yankees captain the Barry Bonds treatment, intentionally walking him with the bases empty and two outs.
The Blue Jays intentionally walk Judge with two outs and the bases empty pic.twitter.com/2TXLBNpZyX
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) August 3, 2024
It turned out to be the correct strategy for the Blue Jays, who got out of the inning without any further damage.
But this is just another reminder of the insane and ridiculous season Judge is enjoying. He has 41 home runs and 103 RBI in 110 games. He's the overwhelming favorite to win the American League MVP award with two months to play.
On pace for 59 home runs this season, per Fangraphs, teams may simply avoid pitching to Judge even with the bases empty.
Pitchers will be forced to throw to Judge for the majority of the time, but this just goes to show how much respect the 32-year-old is garnering amid another historic season.
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