NEW YORK — Aaron Judge wanted a change. One of the most feared hitters in the majors, the New York Yankees center fielder had struggled in the early weeks of the season. By late April, he was hitting just .207.
“Things weren’t going so well for me,” he said recently.
So Judge, who like many players often tinkers with his swing, decided to make what seemed like a significant adjustment.
On May 5, he walked to the plate to face Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal with two outs in the first inning. Instead of taking his usual open batting stance — with his left leg pointed toward the third baseman — he changed things up. He closed his stance slightly, pointing his foot more toward the pitcher. He also stood a little straighter.
It worked like a charm. With the count tied at 1-1, Skubal tried to slam a 97-mph heater down the field and throw it to Judge. But he let the ball go over the plate and Judge drove it for a solo home run nearly into the right-center field stands at Yankee Stadium.
Judge finished the game 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. He has since reclaimed his spot as baseball’s leading hitter. Entering Monday’s road game against the Chicago White Sox, he led in two of the three Triple Crown categories, with an American League-best 42 home runs and 106 RBIs. However, his .328 batting average was second only to the Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt, who hit .347. Judge’s 217 wRC+ — an all-encompassing metric that measures a player’s overall value — was also a league-leading metric, more than 30 points higher than his nearest rival, teammate Juan Soto, who was at 186.
He also had 299 career home runs. He is on track to become the fastest player to reach 300.
According to the judge, the change has helped him in several ways.
First, he said, it made him feel more comfortable. Second, it allowed him to be more effective against sliders and pitches in general. Through May 4, Judge was hitting just .154 with a .333 slugging percentage against sliders. After May 5, he was hitting .348 against them and slugging .812.
“Just staying on the outfield a little bit better,” he said. “A lot of teams like to throw slider, slider, and then run heaters inside and then slider — same thing. If I just start a little bit closed or a little bit more straight up, which I usually like to do, I can stay on that a little bit better.”
He added that it helped his front foot land more consistently where it was supposed to: pointing almost directly at the pitcher.
“I always want to be square when I land,” he said. “But sometimes if I start way off the ball, I feel like I never got square again, so that pitch away felt even further away. So if I start more square, you have a better chance of staying on some balls.”
Of course, the change wasn’t a one-time adjustment. This season, Judge has squared up to the pitcher at various points and has occasionally adjusted his height, all in an effort to find the right balance.
First baseman Anthony Rizzo — one of the game’s best hitters since his debut in 2011 — said he noticed the change in Judge’s batting stance when it happened and said a hitter’s legs can be a key to his success. During spring training workouts, Yankees players told each other they wanted to spend the season emphasizing closely watching each other’s at-bats and helping to correct mistakes as they arise.
“Hitting is very hard,” Rizzo said. “But I think as long as you have your core foundation and you’re on time, it doesn’t matter where you start. … It’s a matter of feel.”
Manager Aaron Boone said Judge’s swing seems more direct since the change.
“In a way, it’s simplified it for him,” Boone said, “and made him really efficient in what he does in the (batter’s) box. Also, we’ve seen some great swing decisions. He’s really calm up there in how he takes pitches, he understands what he’s looking for and he doesn’t try to overdo it. He knows he doesn’t have to swing harder or add more. He slows it down really well, and I think the stance and the position he’s in — from my standpoint and from my perspective of him — allows him to be more efficient.”
According to batting coach James Rowson, it’s not uncommon for even the best players in the game to make significant adjustments to become more comfortable at bat.
“I don’t think it’s strange,” Rowson said. “I think if you took 100 batters, you’d see them make adjustments just because of how something feels. That doesn’t mean you stay there. You could stay there. You could go back. I think as long as he gets to that point now where he talks about where he feels like he’s in a good position to make a good play, that’s where we want to be. Sometimes you make those adjustments to get that feeling back.”
Lately, Judge has had less of an opportunity to put his changeup into practice. Teams have once again given Judge the Barry Bonds treatment, intentionally throwing around him or letting him walk instead of letting him win. This season, he’s tied with the Houston Astros’ Yordan Alvarez for the most intentional walks in a game with 13. They also did it to him late in the 2022 season, when he set an American League record with 62 home runs.
Still, Judge said he felt good about the move and that there may be more to come as he continues to find comfort at bat.
“There are certain things that you have to adhere to and you know things are going to change,” he said. “But these are the little things where you just look at your tape and analyze your game and little things can stand out and it’s like, well, let me see if this works.”
A reporter subsequently told Judge that the measure did indeed appear to be working.
He smiled.
“So far.”
(Top photo of Aaron Judge: Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
