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Season for the ages for Judge...he is remarkable. This guy is like Paul Bunyan or something. Larger than life character that is better than they hype. Can't wait to watch him try and break the record down the stretch.
 

chris_the_wrench

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Season for the ages for Judge...he is remarkable. This guy is like Paul Bunyan or something. Larger than life character that is better than they hype. Can't wait to watch him try and break the record down the stretch.
I predicted he would hit number 62 on the 4th of October, i maybe off on that!! And I hope he does it sooner. Triple crown is a real possibility, that blows my MIND with those hr numbers!! Maris hit .269 in ‘61, Judge is hitting .317!!! The article on mlb noted Maris was never intentionally walked, an advantage for him was hitting in the 3 spot in front of some dude named ‘Mantle’… awesome fun for baseball fans right now. Pujols is also providing some entertainment, hopefully not during this Padres series though…
 

Philpug

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I predicted he would hit number 62 on the 4th of October, i maybe off on that!! And I hope he does it sooner. Triple crown is a real possibility, that blows my MIND with those hr numbers!! Maris hit .269 in ‘61, Judge is hitting .317!!! The article on mlb noted Maris was never intentionally walked, an advantage for him was hitting in the 3 spot in front of some dude named ‘Mantle’… awesome fun for baseball fans right now. Pujols is also providing some entertainment, hopefully not during this Padres series though…
Maris also did it in the year where there were two expansion teams, 13 of his homers were hit against the Angels and Senators. Also, Judge is hitting against many more pitchers than the others, 244 at this point verses even the other leaders, Sosa ect, who hit against just over 200 and that was for the who season. So many new pitchers a game and many more fresh arms.

No, I didn't just pull those out of the air, I just read an article.
 

Novaloafah

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Don't forget the triple crown (AL)
1663854851596.png
 

Lorenzzo

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Comparisons between era almost always seem forced to me. Pharma, conditioning, strike zone size and location, pitcher size, international involvement, race inclusion, mound height, pitch variety, internal chest protector, pre-at bat batting cages under the stands, diet, stadia and their dimensions, infield dirt, global warming and carry, average ballpark altitude, baseball specs and manufacturers, the shift, designated hitter, two at bat starting pitchers, off days and their timing, post-season length, youtube, personal coaches and their arts, stat metrics, video, ballclub MBA stat analysts...there's almost no end. Each one of those factors and the many I haven't mentioned is open for debate as to how and whether they've changed the sport.

But...all that said...Judge's regular season performance this year has no equal. It just doesn't. To not only hit for that kind of power and average in this era is unquestionably the top regular season hitting feat ever. Breaking the HR record and threatening the TC. Really? When he came in and up until kind of recently Judge was money in the top half of the strike zone but amateur at the bottom. This year there's no part of the strike zone he doesn't kill. No pitch he doesn't kill. A lot of it these days is fooling the hitter. How's that going with him?

The harsh reality though is these days, much, much more than ever with the expanded format, each season is comprised of two baseball seasons - the regular season and the playoffs. Another reason the era before even this year is different. The second season will matter...a lot.

Edit: forgot grass height and density.
 
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chris_the_wrench

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To continue the apples to oranges comparisons, will we ever see anyone hit close to .400 again? Tony Gwynn, one of my favorite players of all time, hit .394 back in '94. That season was cut short by the strike. Could he have hit .407? Or maybe slumped down to .370?? Who knows.. I don't see it happening in todays game.
 

S.H.

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But...all that said...Judge's regular season performance this year has no equal. It just doesn't. To not only hit for that kind of power and average in this era is unquestionably the top regular season hitting feat ever.
Is ... this better than Bonds in '01 (or '02/'03/'04)? Really? I'm not sure it is.

Judge is unquestionably great. He's having an all time great season. But to say it has no equal ... I'm not sure I'm there yet. OPS+ of 215 is incredible, but it's not the best (or even really that close). Judge's offensive bWAR of 9.8, again, incredible, but not the best (or even that close). The HRs are an AL mark, but not an MLB mark.
 

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Is ... this better than Bonds in '01 (or '02/'03/'04)? Really? I'm not sure it is.

Judge is unquestionably great. He's having an all time great season. But to say it has no equal ... I'm not sure I'm there yet. OPS+ of 215 is incredible, but it's not the best (or even really that close). Judge's offensive bWAR of 9.8, again, incredible, but not the best (or even that close). The HRs are an AL mark, but not an MLB mark.
I’m not really HR record focused here. Almost is good enough when you’re taking about what he’s doing in terms of that or even first place in average. The thing about stats and baseball is there’s always something out there you can use to show black is white, or at least grey. It’s annoying. If you want to focus on something determinative, look at separation in home runs and slugging percentage. I focus on how impossible it is to pitch to him. Bonds wasn’t there, nor Ortiz, nor Williams (per description by his peers) nor anyone else.

I notice you’re from New England. So am I, kinda, if you go way back to single digits. This shouldn’t be political. BTW I’d make an argument for Yaz in ‘67 before Bonds. Not just the TC but the many situations when he came through might never have been matched.

To continue the apples to oranges comparisons, will we ever see anyone hit close to .400 again? Tony Gwynn, one of my favorite players of all time, hit .394 back in '94. That season was cut short by the strike. Could he have hit .407? Or maybe slumped down to .370?? Who knows.. I don't see it happening in todays game.
Old timers I’ve been around were kind of unanimous in saying the night game killed the .400 average. I don’t know about that, things change in every direction over time. But there is something that likely won’t change that I think kills it. If a guy is capable of hitting .400 he should be dropping 50 points or more for the sake of power. It’s just the numbers.
 
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S.H.

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If you want to focus on something determinative, look at separation in home runs and slugging percentage. I focus on how impossible it is to pitch to him. Bonds wasn’t there, nor Ortiz, nor Williams (per description by his peers) nor anyone else.
2022 SLG:
Judge .705
Alvarez .622
Goldschmidt .595

2001 SLG:
Bonds .863
Sosa .737
Gonzalez .688

The HR argument I'll give you (vs Bonds), but it's not more impressive than Ruth's seasons in the 20s. I used OPS+ because it is, by definition, a reflection of the player's performance relative to the league (league avg is by definition pegged at 100). So you see how much better a player is than the league as a whole. OPS encapsulates "how impossible it is to pitch to him", as it incorporates OBP (i.e., walks).

In 2001, Bonds was walked 177 times (in '04, it was 232!). Judge is at 94. Bonds was so impossible to pitch to, they didn't.

Judge is having an all-time great season, no doubt. But sensationalizing as without question the best offensive season ever? I'm not there. Best offensive season in the last 10 years (better than Miggy winning the triple crown in 2012)? Absolutely.
 

Lorenzzo

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2022 SLG:
Judge .705
Alvarez .622
Goldschmidt .595

2001 SLG:
Bonds .863
Sosa .737
Gonzalez .688

The HR argument I'll give you (vs Bonds), but it's not more impressive than Ruth's seasons in the 20s. I used OPS+ because it is, by definition, a reflection of the player's performance relative to the league (league avg is by definition pegged at 100). So you see how much better a player is than the league as a whole. OPS encapsulates "how impossible it is to pitch to him", as it incorporates OBP (i.e., walks).

In 2001, Bonds was walked 177 times (in '04, it was 232!). Judge is at 94. Bonds was so impossible to pitch to, they didn't.

Judge is having an all-time great season, no doubt. But sensationalizing as without question the best offensive season ever? I'm not there. Best offensive season in the last 10 years (better than Miggy winning the triple crown in 2012)? Absolutely.
I’ll give you I have a bias against Bonds. But it’s well founded and disqualifying. Body armor and PED-s. I disagree on the OPS. It says more about protection from other hitters in the lineup then parity. The Yankees and all those low averages haven’t been swarming with protection. Also, Bonds had a singular hitting style, most do. Judge with that enormous strike zone has had to learn several. That late low zone wrist action may change a lot of other hitters. But bias aside there were ways to get Bonds out if you made the pitches. And the zone was absolutely tiny during that stretch. Nothing above the lower midsection. Today guys are throwing head high curves that come into the plate over the letters and scraping the back of the zone for strikes. Then the next pitch out of the zone low and outside. To a guy 6’7”. That’s a dramatic difference.

But really separation plus threatening for TC and HR-s, which by the way are more valuable than captured by SP, no I’ve never seen a guy hit like this for a season.
 
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S.H.

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I’ll give you I have a bias against Bonds. But it’s well founded and disqualifying. Body armor and PED-s. I disagree on the OPS. It says more about protection from other hitters in the lineup then parity. The Yankees and all those low averages haven’t been swarming with protection. Also, Bonds had a singular hitting style, most do. Judge with that enormous strike zone has had to learn several. That late low zone wrist action may change a lot of other hitters. But bias aside there were ways to get Bonds out if you made the pitches. And the zone was absolutely tiny during that stretch. Nothing above the lower midsection. Today guys are throwing head high curves that come into the plate over the letters and scraping the back of the zone for strikes. Then the next pitch out of the zone low and outside. To a guy 6’7”. That’s a dramatic difference.

No I’ve never seen a guy hit like this for a season.
Agree to disagree.
 

James

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Well Judge has 16 stolen bases…

Banning the shift should bring up averages next year. They also need to fix the baseball and make it more grippy. (Supposedly the Japanese ball is more grippy plus smaller.) The fact that just about everyone was using sticky stuff should have led them down the path of getting the outside more appropriate.

IMHO, No need to go 10 years at this point. Not wiht these payrolls keeping to climb. 3 years/$165m then 5/$300m after that. The next question, Yankees, Mets or Red Sox? If the latter two, could be be 3/$200m
No player in their prime would do a three year deal. Just too risky. He could turn into an Ellsbury and be constantly injured, then you’d get next to nothing.
Minimum here is likely 7 years.
Personally, I’m fine if they let him walk if the contract is absurd. Hey, go to the Angels! Then you have the three best players, and still don’t make the playoffs.
 

Dave Marshak

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He won’t go to the angels. Even Itani wants out of there. He’l go to the Mets for 10 years @ $40 million or stay with the Yankees for 10 @ $38.
if the Yankees lose him cashman will leave the country and the whole Steinbrenner family will change their name.
dm
 

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No player in their prime would do a three year deal. Just too risky. He could turn into an Ellsbury and be constantly injured, then you’d get next to nothing.
Minimum here is likely 7 years.
Split it with you 7 year contract with a 3 year out. ;)
 

Dave Marshak

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Split it with you 7 year contract with a 3 year out. ;)
Nope. He wants more than 7. The Mets will offer 10 and the Yankees will have to match it. An option has no value to Judge unless the last 3 years are way low. The Yankees would be foolish to do that.

dm
 

James

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A ten year deal puts him at 41 yrs old in the last year. Pujols is 42. When’s the last year he was decent?
 

Dave Marshak

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A ten year deal puts him at 41 yrs old in the last year…
He wants a contract that will cover the rest of his career. What happens if he can still play at a diminished but respectable level when his contract expires? Would he take minimum salary to play another year or 2. That’s why he wants a long contract and why he doesn’t need an opt out.

dm
 

crgildart

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So they're marking the balls pitched to Judge this week with secret insignia so they'll be able to verify it when someone claims to have caught it in the stands.
 

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