{"id":2921,"date":"2024-10-28T02:36:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T02:36:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=2921"},"modified":"2024-10-28T02:36:56","modified_gmt":"2024-10-28T02:36:56","slug":"observations-on-yankees-star-aaron-judges-postseason-struggles-whats-the-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotnews.azontree.com\/?p=2921","title":{"rendered":"Observations on Yankees Star Aaron Judge\u2019s Postseason Struggles; What\u2019s the Cause?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Observations on Yankees Star Aaron Judge\u2019s Postseason Struggles; What\u2019s the Cause?<\/p>\n

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Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images \/ Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Following Saturday\u2019s 4-2 loss in Game 2 of the World Series, the\u00a0New York Yankees\u00a0find themselves in a 2-0 series deficit against the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n

Aside from Juan Soto\u2019s solo home run in the third inning, the Yankees\u2019 offense was silent until the ninth, when Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. all singled, and an Anthony Rizzo hit-by-pitch put the go-ahead run on first base. Unfortunately for New York, their captain and regular-season MVP, Aaron Judge, appeared lost at the plate.<\/p>\n

Judge whiffed at a first-pitch sweeper, watched a 95 mph sinker get called for a strike down the middle, took a ball well out of the zone, and then chased a sweeper off the plate for strike three. He finished the game 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, bringing his postseason totals to 6-for-40 (.150) with 19 strikeouts, and 1-for-9 (.111) with six strikeouts in the World Series.<\/p>\n

The presumptive AL MVP posted historic regular-season numbers at age 32, finishing with a .322\/.458\/.701 slash line and a league-leading 58 home runs in 158 games. So what has caused this drastic drop-off in October? It ultimately comes down to two shifts in his approach.<\/p>\n

Expanding the Strike Zone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pitchers have been throwing him junk outside the zone all season long. While Judge laid off those pitches during the regular season, he is now chasing them.<\/p>\n

Through 158 regular-season games, Judge had the second-lowest chase rate in the American League (18.7%), behind only Juan Soto (18.3%). In 11 postseason games, his chase rate has spiked to 29.3%.<\/p>\n

More concerning is his declining contact rate. Since the regular season ended, his whiff rate has surged from 30.7% to an alarming 44.1%, missing on 49 of his 111 postseason swings. For context, the highest whiff rate during the regular season was 36.4%, recorded by A\u2019s infielder Zack Gelof.<\/p>\n

In the regular season, Judge swung and missed at only 12.1% of the pitches he saw. So far in the World Series, that figure has skyrocketed to 32.6%.<\/p>\n

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