Yankees Star Aaron Judge Assigns Blame After Career-Worst Slump

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Aaron Judge looking frustrated in the World Series

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has put together MVP-caliber numbers through the first two months of the MLB season, but hit a major roadblock in this weekend’s sweep at the hands of the rival Boston Red Sox.

Judge went 1-for-12 in the weekend series, striking out three or more times in three consecutive games for the first time in his career. After the Yankees dropped the final game of the series on June 15, Judge spoke about his struggles and identified a key problem.

Aaron Judge Stresses Better Discipline

Though Judge has remained around .400 for most of the season so far, he told reporters on Sunday that he lacked proper discipline at the plate against the Red Sox. Judge said he strayed too far outside the strike zone at pitches while trying to make something happen.

“You’ve got to swing at strikes,’’ Judge said, via The Associated Press. “It usually helps any hitter when you swing at strikes. Definitely some pitches off the edge or off the edge in, you know, taking some hacks just trying to make something happen.”

It wasn’t just Judge struggling over the weekend. The Yankees scored just four total runs in the three-game series, matching the fewest for a three-game set at Fenway Park.

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said it’s very difficult facing a hitter as good as Judge, but the Boston pitching staff was able to get the right placement on their fastballs to get some swing and misses.

“Throughout the years we’ve been aggressive with him,” Cora added. “Sometimes he gets us, sometimes we do a good job with that. It’s always fun to compete against the best, and, to me, he’s the best in the business right now.”

Aaron Judge ‘Trying to Make Something Happen’

Judge has been very disciplined at the plate this season leading up to the Red Sox series, but has now gone four straight games without a walk — his longest stretch of the season. Judge said he just got too aggressive trying to hit rather than taking a base on balls.

“You take some hacks trying to make something happen instead of taking your walk if they’re gonna give it to you,’’ Judge said, via the New York Post.

Judge did come through clutch in the first game of the series, with his only hit of the weekend coming on a solo home run in the ninth inning to tie the game. The Yankees went on to lose in extra innings, setting the tone for the rest of the weekend.

“They pitched him tough,’’ Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “He had a massive hit to force extra innings the first night. That’s baseball. It’s why guys don’t hit .450 with 900 homers. You’re gonna have a weekend where they execute and they get you. … Hitting is hard. It’s hard to be perfect.”

Judge’s final at-bat of the series came in the eighth inning on Sunday, when he bounced into an inning-ending double play against pitcher Garrett Whitlock.

“He’s one of the greatest hitters in the world,” Whitlock said after the game. “It’s special to watch him play and everything. We tried to execute and had some execution this weekend.”

Nathan Dougherty is a sports reporter covering the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. Previously he wrote for the Rochester Business Journal and served as the assistant editor of athletic trade magazines Coaching Management, Athletic Management and Training & Conditioning. He is based out of Rochester, New York, and loves everything football. More about Nathan Dougherty