For years, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has had to fight with umpires over low called strikes.
Even Aaron Boone, his manager since 2018, has been tossed a couple of times while arguing with umpires about adjustments they need to make while considering Judge’s strike zone.
Judge is 6-foot-7, so his strike zone should not be the same as the average MLB hitter.
In fact, MLB defines the strike zone as “the area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter’s shoulders and the top of the uniform pants — when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball — and a point just below the kneecap.”
It means that the strike zone will vary from player to player, and can’t be standardized.
Umpires Don’t Use A Fair Strike Zone With Judge
But umpires tend to ignore this when Judge is hitting, rewarding pitchers with strikes on low pitches that should be called as balls.
“How big umpires think Aaron Judge is,” Talkin’ Yanks, a Twitter account with news and content about the Yankees, posted on Monday, with a hilarious picture:
How big umpires think Aaron Judge is
(via @mlb_mini) pic.twitter.com/bUyOLlFUUX
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 6, 2022
That is precisely how big (or small) umpires think Judge is while calling pitches during his at-bats.
Judging by Judge’s numbers this season, the controversial calls haven’t really affected him.
He is currently slashing .313/.382/.677 with a league-leading 21 home runs in what is shaping up to be a career season for the hulking slugger.
Imagine if he had umpires on his side.
“On his side” is perhaps not the right phrase: it would be more like “if umpires used a fair strike zone with him.”
The Yankees’ outfielder is about to make life-changing money during the offseason as a free agent.
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