If Judge was on the Red Sox

[oldtimer]

Those of you of my age will remember Frank Howard, a guy eerily similar to Judge in size at a time when athletes in general were smaller than today. He put up several 40 home run seasons in the late 60s. He was just a big man.

 

Judge is just a big man. If he were inclined that way, he'd make a heck of a tight end or offensive tackle in football or perhaps a power forward in basketball.

 

The only truly big guys the Sox have on the roster are the pitchers. Hanley weighs 235 so he is our biggest hitter. We draft our guys out of the land of the lilliputians.

[Spudboy]

The best thing is that he haven't reach the age of peak performance (27-29 yrs)

 

He looks out of place because most of the guys his (Judge and Stanton) size and athleticism usually pick football of basketball, Just imagine Gronk in a baseball field

 

A healthy Gronk could play baseball or basketball at a hi level. He is a gifted athlete.

[Carpin]

A healthy Gronk could play baseball or basketball at a hi level. He is a gifted athlete.

 

I agree, but those guys usually don't pick baseball

 

I'm happy Judge picked baseball, he had scholarship offers to play football and basketball too, he's just a freak like Gronk

[Spudboy]

I agree, but those guys usually don't pick baseball

 

I'm happy Judge picked baseball, he had scholarship offers to play football and basketball too, he's just a freak like Gronk

 

I agree.

[notin]

A healthy Gronk could play baseball or basketball at a hi level. He is a gifted athlete.

 

Athelticism and baseball skills aren't also in sync. Jon Kruk was hardly a gifted athlete. Bo Jackson was. Which one was better at baseball?

[notin]

I agree, but those guys usually don't pick baseball

 

I'm happy Judge picked baseball, he had scholarship offers to play football and basketball too, he's just a freak like Gronk

 

A lot of those multi-sport athlete guys like to try baseball first, but if they don't make it within the few seasons, many inevitably give it up and go play football. Chris Winke, Cody Brennan, Chad Hutchinson, Drew Henson, and Russell Wilson, to name a few.

 

Even Danny Ainge gave baseball a good try, but quit after making MLB (and being thoroughly awful) to go play basketball...

[Spudboy]

Athelticism and baseball skills aren't also in sync. Jon Kruk was hardly a gifted athlete. Bo Jackson was. Which one was better at baseball?

 

I do not see your point. Yes, less athletic people can play baseball well. Supremely athletic people may be able to play baseball well.

 

My Point is that big guys (tall ) with the ability to run, who can move their feet quickly, and who have good hands can be good athletes.

 

Where is the conflict in my statement?

 

Ever hear of Tony Gonzalez?

[Spudboy]

A lot of those multi-sport athlete guys like to try baseball first, but if they don't make it within the few seasons, many inevitably give it up and go play football. Chris Winke, Cody Brennan, Chad Hutchinson, Drew Henson, and Russell Wilson, to name a few.

 

Even Danny Ainge gave baseball a good try, but quit after making MLB (and being thoroughly awful) to go play basketball...

 

Ainge, from appearances, could shoot a basketball better that he could hit a baseball. And he could make a s*** tone more money sooner rather than later playing in the NBA.

[Northern Star]

What a stupid thread. He’s a massive human being. He should have power.

 

The point of the thread was missed, but that's fine. I think Judge's season is suspicious, but you could say the same about Stanton. The problem is any time HR totals near the bad old days of McGwire and Sosa and Bonds, there's going to be that suspicion, even if it's unfounded. As noted, players across the league are swinging for the fences more than ever and some think the ball is doctored.

 

But my point was would we overlook the suspicion if he was our guy.

[Northern Star]

Judge doesn’t have to be lefty to be awesome. He misses balls and still pulls them out of the stadium to LF. If he was a lefty, though, he might hit an extra 10 bombs by accident

 

This means nothing. I like my chances of hitting one out of that f***ing joke of a park.

[mvp 78]

If Judge was on the Sox, we'd all be whining about how he regressed in the 2nd half and then went 0 for a million against the Astros.

[Jack Flap]

If Judge was on the Sox, we'd all be whining about how he regressed in the 2nd half and then went 0 for a million against the Astros.

 

Aye.

[illinoisredsox]

Posted this on the Yankee thread yesterday, but I'll repeat it here for those who don't go there:

 

Judge struck out more times in the 5 game ALDS (16) than Tony Gwynn did in the entire 1995 season (15) when Gwynn played in 135 games.

 

I know the game has changed, but that boggles the mind. I'm not sure which one is more ridiculous.

[OH FOY]

I'm sure glad we Drafted Trey Ball instead of Judge.

[Bellhorn04]

Posted this on the Yankee thread yesterday, but I'll repeat it here for those who don't go there:

 

Judge struck out more times in the 5 game ALDS (16) than Tony Gwynn did in the entire 1995 season (15) when Gwynn played in 135 games.

 

I know the game has changed, but that boggles the mind. I'm not sure which one is more ridiculous.

 

Just looking at this - 3 Golden Sombreros in 5 games!

[S5Dewey]

IIRC Judge's slide began in a Red Sox series when Kimbrel exposed the fact that Judge can't get to the high fast ball.

[Bellhorn04]

IIRC Judge's slide began in a Red Sox series when Kimbrel exposed the fact that Judge can't get to the high fast ball.

 

But he had an insanely hot September. Quite a roller coaster ride.

[OH FOY]

Tells me more about the Yankees than Judge. They just beat the hottest team in baseball, without any contribution of their slugger.

[Carpin]

Good point

 

I think they focused a lot on him (and Sanchez) and forgot about the rest (Didi, Gardner, Frazier, etc)

[SCM33]

Judge is a fluke. Huge holes in his swing that have already been exposed. Nothing he has ever done, and no scouting report has ever indicated that he would ever be a 50HR hitter in the big leagues.

 

He was exposed quite a bit in the second half this year.....I expect him to hit around .250 with 25-30 HR this year. Those numbers may be generous. You don't go from 19HR in AAA to 52HR in MLB at the age of 25.

 

Fluke.

[jacksonianmarch]

Yeah, I don’t believe that. You saw in the HR derby and basically all season that his power isn’t normal. He’s got more natural power than Giancarlo. He’s got the most natural power of anybody in baseball.

 

In the minors, he showed some inconsistency with the strike zone. He was never a contact hitter, but he was prone to chase away. In 2016, he was chasing sliders away and was essentially an easy out to anyone who could locate. Come 2017, he learned to lay off the slider away and pitchers had to come into the zone. He goes on a ridiculous pre ASB tear and heads into the HR derby on fire. He does his HR derby thing but somewhere around the ASB, he injured his shoulder. With the shoulder injury, he reverts to being pull happy and starts pulling off the outside pitches and worse, starts chasing the sliders down and away again. By the time mid August rolls around, he was an easy out for a month. He eventually gets benched to figure things out (really to get a cortisone injection) and comes out with a swing once again that elicits power center-right and he goes on a tear. He goes to the playoffs and the umps start expanding his zone and he slumps again. By the third ALCS game, the media starts picking up the umps low zone and he starts to hit again

 

He’s never going to be a contact hitter. But he’s a deadly power hitter with his best power to center and RF. His problem is when he slumps, he gets pull happy. When he does this, he nails out and pulls off the ball and becomes very susceptible to down and away breaking balls. It’s an adjustment for sure.

 

I think he ends up hitting for a better average than last year over time. He’s got a .300 hitters capability, especially as he stops getting a rookie strike zone and starts getting the zone afforded his size, maybe smaller. We shall see how the shoulder responds post surgery. They didn’t repair the cuff, just remove “loose bodies” which usually entails a smooth recovery. His production in 2018 is going to be an interesting storyline to follow for sure. Even with his month long slump from mid July to mid August, he still OPS’d .939 in the second half. He’s a monster

[mvp 78]

Judge is a fluke. Huge holes in his swing that have already been exposed. Nothing he has ever done, and no scouting report has ever indicated that he would ever be a 50HR hitter in the big leagues.

 

He was exposed quite a bit in the second half this year.....I expect him to hit around .250 with 25-30 HR this year. Those numbers may be generous. You don't go from 19HR in AAA to 52HR in MLB at the age of 25.

 

Fluke.

 

There are a ton of hitters that didn't develop power until around 25.

[SCM33]

Yeah, I don’t believe that. You saw in the HR derby and basically all season that his power isn’t normal. He’s got more natural power than Giancarlo. He’s got the most natural power of anybody in baseball.

 

In the minors, he showed some inconsistency with the strike zone. He was never a contact hitter, but he was prone to chase away. In 2016, he was chasing sliders away and was essentially an easy out to anyone who could locate. Come 2017, he learned to lay off the slider away and pitchers had to come into the zone. He goes on a ridiculous pre ASB tear and heads into the HR derby on fire. He does his HR derby thing but somewhere around the ASB, he injured his shoulder. With the shoulder injury, he reverts to being pull happy and starts pulling off the outside pitches and worse, starts chasing the sliders down and away again. By the time mid August rolls around, he was an easy out for a month. He eventually gets benched to figure things out (really to get a cortisone injection) and comes out with a swing once again that elicits power center-right and he goes on a tear. He goes to the playoffs and the umps start expanding his zone and he slumps again. By the third ALCS game, the media starts picking up the umps low zone and he starts to hit again

 

He’s never going to be a contact hitter. But he’s a deadly power hitter with his best power to center and RF. His problem is when he slumps, he gets pull happy. When he does this, he nails out and pulls off the ball and becomes very susceptible to down and away breaking balls. It’s an adjustment for sure.

 

I think he ends up hitting for a better average than last year over time. He’s got a .300 hitters capability, especially as he stops getting a rookie strike zone and starts getting the zone afforded his size, maybe smaller. We shall see how the shoulder responds post surgery. They didn’t repair the cuff, just remove “loose bodies” which usually entails a smooth recovery. His production in 2018 is going to be an interesting storyline to follow for sure. Even with his month long slump from mid July to mid August, he still OPS’d .939 in the second half. He’s a monster

 

You don't make any sense.

 

I see him eventually being either Adam Dunn, Richie Sexson or Russell Branyan. All 3 had all world power. All 3 were giants. All 3 had huge strike zones. All 3 struck out a ton. I am not sure he is quite Adam Dunn, I think he will end up being most similar to Richie Sexson.

[jacksonianmarch]

He’s not a contact hitter, but when he makes contact, it’s hard contact. I don’t think his K rate stays as ridiculously high as it is, although I never expect him to get under 150 K’s in a season. I do think he can hit .300 in a season just based on his exit velocity. When he was healthy and going well, he either struck out, walked or hit a ball hard. Also, once the umpires actually call his strike zone, we should see some drop in the strikeout rate too and he either can see more walks or a higher contact rate. Judge is different from Dunn as Judge has shown a significant proclivity to go the other way.

 

Also, Dunn never had a season like Judge. Judge hit for a higher average in his rookie season then Dunn ever did. His OBP would have set a career high for Dunn. His SLG would have been a career high. He bested Dunn’s HR high water mark by 6. Judge has 21 more runs scored and 7 more RBI than Dunn’s career high. For all the crap Judge got for his second half, his second half OPS would have been Dunn’s fourth best season by OPS. Judge is a far better fielder and base runner as well. Oh, and he did all this as a rookie!

[notin]

He’s not a contact hitter, but when he makes contact, it’s hard contact. I don’t think his K rate stays as ridiculously high as it is, although I never expect him to get under 150 K’s in a season. I do think he can hit .300 in a season just based on his exit velocity. When he was healthy and going well, he either struck out, walked or hit a ball hard. Also, once the umpires actually call his strike zone, we should see some drop in the strikeout rate too and he either can see more walks or a higher contact rate. Judge is different from Dunn as Judge has shown a significant proclivity to go the other way.

 

Also, Dunn never had a season like Judge. Judge hit for a higher average in his rookie season then Dunn ever did. His OBP would have set a career high for Dunn. His SLG would have been a career high. He bested Dunn’s HR high water mark by 6. Judge has 21 more runs scored and 7 more RBI than Dunn’s career high. For all the crap Judge got for his second half, his second half OPS would have been Dunn’s fourth best season by OPS. Judge is a far better fielder and base runner as well. Oh, and he did all this as a rookie!

 

Judge also had a better BABIP than Dunn ever had and by a lot.

 

Judge's xBABIP was signiifcantly lower. So given normal luck, you can expect a 20-30 point drop in his BA next year. Which will lead to a corresponding drop in OBP and SLG...

[mvp 78]

Judge doubled Sexon's highest WAR season in his rookie year. I'm not sure why anyone would expect him to regress that far.

[notin]

Yeah, I don’t believe that. You saw in the HR derby and basically all season that his power isn’t normal. He’s got more natural power than Giancarlo. He’s got the most natural power of anybody in baseball.

 

 

You can't say that about him until he breaks a scoreboard.

 

Also don't forget about the sneaky freakish power of Justin Upton. He's way up on that list, too...

[mvp 78]

When Ellsbury had his fluke 2011, not many people thought he could keep it up. With Judge, it does remain to be seen, but seems much more likely that he's not going to fall off a cliff when he gets to hit routine popup hr's at Yankee Stadium v2 for 81 games a year. He'll need a serious injury to really impact his career that much.

[jacksonianmarch]

Ellsbury vs Judge? Really? Now you guys are reachijg big time.

[cp176]

The most natural power of anybody in baseball??? He is one of the biggest guys I guess and certainly has a lot of natural power but how are you going prove that one statistically speaking. Sounds like your opinion to me. I might agree with you but I might not. Seems like there is likely someone out there who is at least as strong if not stronger. I appreciate a loyal fan though but you of all people should know that if you can't quantify it it likely won't be believed.