Are you a double whammy? No, this is the year of Jersey! 25G 4 home runs → 3G 4 home runs, I did something in camp to overcome slow start

Mar 31, 2025

Are you a double whammy? No, this is the year of Jersey! 25G 4 home runs → 3G 4 home runs, I did something in camp to overcome slow start
New York Yankees Aaron Judge walks to base in the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers on the 31st (Korea time) and makes high fives with his teammates after hitting home during the opponent's wild pitch. AP Yonhap News



Are you a double whammy? No, this is the year of Jersey! 25G 4 home runs → 3G 4 home runs, I did something in camp to overcome slow start
Aaron Judge hits a two-run shot to the left in his first at-bat in the first inning. ImagesYonhap News
If last year was the year of Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers), wouldn't this year be the season of Aaron Judge (New York Yankees).

The two non-spending superstars have been rivals for MVP since 2021. When Ohtani was named his first MVP in 2021, Judge was a season away from the FA. Judge became the first MVP of his career, beating Ohtani, who continued the myth of pitching and hitting by hitting 62 home runs, the most in a single AL season in 2022. He stayed with the Yankees for nine years and $360 million.

That year, Ohtani filled both the regular at-bats and the regular innings for the first time in major league history, but the BBWAA (National Baseball Writers Association) view of the record of 62 home runs was special. Ohtani reportedly expressed regret over his failure to become MVP on the phone with Angels manager Phil Nevin.




However, Ohtani regained the 2023 MVP. He became the AL home run king with 44 home runs, and as a pitcher, he was 10-5 with a 3.14 ERA and 167 strikeouts. On the other hand, Judge rested for nearly two months due to injury, so he had only 37 home runs.

And last year, when Ohtani moved to the Dodgers for 10 years and $700 million, the two players spent a season that will go down in history side by side.

Are you a double whammy? No, this is the year of Jersey! 25G 4 home runs → 3G 4 home runs, I did something in camp to overcome slow start
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani hits a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers on the 28th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News
Ohtani opened the first 50-50 club in history with 54 home runs and 59 steals. He received the first-place vote from all 30 reporters from the BBWAA and won the third MVP with a unanimous opinion. However, Judge was also unanimously named AL MVP with a batting average of 0.322 and 58 home runs and 144 RBIs, reclaiming the best player position in two years.




It was a very impressive season, with some saying that MVP would have been Judge's possession even if Ohtani had remained in the AL as a pitcher last year. Throughout both leagues, home runs, RBIs, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS, OPS+, and WAR were all ranked first.

In any case, experts who watched the performances of the two players last year predict that the era of NL will continue for the time being, while AL will continue.

However, Judge has an overwhelming start this season. As of the 31st (Korea time), Ohtani has a batting average of 0.333 (6 hits in 18 at-bats), two homers, two RBIs, eight runs, five walks, three strikeouts, and an OPS of 1.200 in five games. He also managed to steal one.




However, Judge's performance is on a different level. He has already hit four home runs in three games. In the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium on the 30th, he made a series of solo shots, manlupo and two-run shots, and in the game against Milwaukee at the same place on the 31st, he hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning. At the full count, Milwaukee starter Aaron Ciberley pulled a cutter in the middle of 89.7 miles and well over the left fence. The ball speed is 113.1 miles and the distance is 410 feet.

Are you a double whammy? No, this is the year of Jersey! 25G 4 home runs → 3G 4 home runs, I did something in camp to overcome slow start
Aaron Judge celebrates with Jazz Chisom Jr., who hit a home run in the seventh inning. ImagesYonhap News
Since then, Milwaukee pitchers have walked in all three confrontations with Judge. He avoided a head-to-head match.

With this, Judge batted 0.545 (6 for 11), had four home runs, 11 RBIs, eight runs, three walks, and an OPS of 2.461. The home run is tied for first with Arizona Diamondbacks Eugenio Suarez, and the RBI and OPS are first in both leagues.

It's a very different start to the season than last year. Judge hit four homers in 25 games last season. As of the end of April, the batting average and OPS were only 0.207 and 0.754. For this reason, Judge set his goal for this season to overcome the slow start. I've been paying attention to this sector since spring training.

After the game, Judge said in an interview with local media "I told you during the camp, but I want to do better in March and April than last year. I adjusted my swing form with him in the spring training. Again, the most important thing is the offensive sector. Every time I take the batter's box, there are runners, and even if my front hitters are out, they play up to 7, 8, 9 pitches, so what I have to do becomes easier."

Yankees manager Aaron Judge said, `I don't know if Judge will have a good first month. But I don't want to put his limitations. It's nice to see a really great performance in the opening series."



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.