Despite a quick and disappointing elimination, Aaron Judge still had a tremendous Postseason for the Yankees and should not be overlooked.
Well, it’s a tough end to a season that showed so much promise. It seems as though the Yankees as a team just never really put it together in the second half after being bitten by the injury bug. There is a silver lining, however, as this team looks to move forward: Aaron Judge.
Aaron Judge has made a big splash his first two seasons in the Pinstripes. In fact, he has put up historic numbers, including breaking the rookie home run record by slugging 52 in 2017. Had injuries not derailed his 2018 campaign, Judge would have been among the favorites for MVP again. With a career .983 OPS, Judge is a bona fide superstar, but is it possible that he performs even better in the playoffs?
Aaron Judge Is Among the Best Yankees Postseason Home Run Hitters
Aaron Judge has played in just 16 playoff games, but he’s already among the best all-time Yankees with seven postseason home runs. Here is the list of Yankees who are ahead of Judge:
1. Bernie Williams: 22
2. Derek Jeter: 20
3. Mickey Mantle: 18
4. Babe Ruth: 15
5. Yogi Berra: 12
Reggie Jackson: 12
7. Jorge Posada: 11
8. Lou Gehrig: 10
Hideki Matsui: 10
Paul O’Neill: 10
Alex Rodriguez: 10
12. Scott Brosius: 8
Robinson Cano: 8
Joe Dimaggio: 8
Tino Martinez: 8
16. Aaron Judge: 7
Judge needs only three more home runs to move into a tie for eighth all-time. A remarkable achievement considering he could potentially accomplish that this year, in just his second season in the league.
Let’s take a look at that same list, but sort by the number of games played:
1. Derek Jeter: 158
2. Jorge Posada: 125
3. Bernie Williams: 121
4. Tino Martinez: 81
5. Paul O’Neill: 76
6. Yogi Berra: 75
7. Mickey Mantle: 65
8. Alex Rodriguez: 61
9. Scott Brosius: 58
10. Hideki Matsui: 56
11. Joe Dimaggio: 51
Robinson Cano: 51
13. Babe Ruth: 36
14. Lou Gehrig: 34
Reggie Jackson: 34
16. Aaron Judge: 18
Wow, no surprise that Judge is at the bottom of this list, but after this postseason he has played in just over half as many games as the players immediately ahead of him on this list.
Let’s look at how many ABs everyone has:
1. Derek Jeter: 639
2. Bernie Williams: 465
3. Jorge Posada: 416
4. Tino Martinez: 287
5. Paul O’Neill: 270
6. Yogi Berra: 259
7. Mickey Mantle: 230
8. Alex Rodriguez: 225
9. Hideki Matsui: 205
10. Robinson Cano: 203
11. Joe Dimaggio: 199
12. Scott Brosius: 196
13. Lou Gehrig: 119
Reggie Jackson: 119
15. Babe Ruth: 118
16. Aaron Judge: 67
I think everyone can see where I’m going with this, so let’s just add on one finishing touch:
Home Runs per AB (Postseason)
1. Babe Ruth: 7.87
2. Aaron Judge: 9.57
3. Reggie Jackson: 9.91
4. Lou Gehrig: 11.9
5. Mickey Mantle: 12.78
6. Hideki Matsui: 20.5
7. Bernie Williams: 21.14
8. Yogi Berra: 21.58
9. Alex Rodriguez: 22.5
10. Scott Brosius: 24.5
11. Joe Dimaggio: 24.88
12. Robinson Cano: 25.38
13. Paul O’Neill: 27.l0
14. Derek Jeter: 31.95
15. Tino Martinez: 35.88
16. Jorge Posada: 37.82
All of a sudden the list almost completely inverts. Aaron Judge ranks second all-time for the Yankees in postseason Home Runs per At Bat. First? Babe Ruth. We’re witnessing something special here folks. Aaron Judge will hopefully be giving us many more memorable postseason moments for years to come and that’s something to look forward to.