Judge and The Intentional Walk...

by Paul Semendinger

October 26, 2024

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I have opined that the fact that two teams, in big moments, in the postseason have intentionally walked Juan Soto to face Aaron Judge is a problem. I argue that this states, clearly, that the opposing managers, right now, are not afraid of Aaron Judge.

This does not mean that Judge isn't a great hitter. This does not mean he should not be the AL MVP. This doesn't mean I dislike Judge. It means none of that.

It means, there is a very clear indication that Aaron Judge, the hitter, right now, based on the data the other teams have, and based on their scouting, is clearly not a batter teams are afraid of. If they felt Judge would do damage, they would not elect to pitch to him, especially with runners on base. (This is so obvious that I find it amazing that this is even a discussion and a debate.)

I have also opined that I doubt, very much, that other managers have elected to intentionally walk batters to pitch to the other team's biggest superstars in big moments. This, the walking of a star player to face a bigger star, at least in my experience watching baseball, is something that I have never seen happen before. And now we have seen two different teams adopt that strategy. I see this as a big concern. Even bigger is that Aaron Judge in those situations has failed to deliver.

I have been told that no team in history had a situation, other than Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, that can be compared to Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. I disagree.

I reached out to a stats expert to see if that person can help.

We already know that Roger Maris was never walked intentionally to face Mickey Mantle in 1961. That is one example that seems to prove my point.

I asked the expert:

How many times Babe Ruth was intentionally walked so the team could face Lou Gehrig.

How many times Eddie Mathews was intentionally walked so the team could face Henry Aaron.

And how many times Willie Mays was intentionally walked so the team could face Willie McCovey.

I asked the questions on Twitter (X) and then ran out of space.

But there are other examples we could ask...

How many times was Thurman Munson walked to face Reggie Jackson?

How many times was Joe Morgan walked to face Johnny Bench?

How many times was Manny Ramirez walked to face David Ortiz?

How many times was Jim Rice walked to face Carl Yastrzemski?

How many times was Dave Parker walked to face Willie Stargell?

There are counless examples that can be checked. If any readers can drill into the history to figure this out, that would be great.

I'm hoping we get the data. My gut is that those players were never walked. Logically, who would want to face Gehrig, or McCovey, or Aaron, or Ortiz with an additional man on base?

Again, I'm not piling on Aaron Judge. I want Aaron Judge to do well. But this is a story and we can't ignore it because we like Judge or feel bad for Judge or whatever. He's the team's superstar. He's the guy who signed the huge contract - and with that comes the responsibiliy and expectation to perform. And right now his slump is hurting the team. Big time. (I hope this all changes tonight and the story goes away - forever. But for now, it's a real thing to explore and discuss.)

I'm seeking information that will help answer a very real question that is a very real part of what is happening this postseason.

If the answer comes, I'll share it here. If I'm wrong, I'll gladly print that. I have never backed away from noting when I have been wrong.

And now we wait for the data that I hope comes...