That depends on when you did it:


Campaneris hit 22 in 1970 ; 8 in 1972 ;

never more than 6 in his other 17 years.

22 was a jump of 275% over his next highest year of 8.



Boggs hit 24 in 1987 ; 11 in 1994 ;

never more than 8 in his other 16 years.

24 was a jump of 218% over his next highest of 11.



Gonzo's totals in Arizona were:

26,31,57,28,26,17,24, & 15

57 was a jump of 183% from his next highest of 31.


So, Gonzalez's 57, while certainly not in line with his normal yearly output, was proportionally closer to that than either of the others.

As to whether or not he juiced...I don't know...I'm just laying out the case for the possibility that there were statistical anomalies.


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I was lucky enough to see him take batting practice over 50 times easily, probably closer to 100 times. From around 1987 till he retired I went to almost every game he played in Minnesota(Twins). I always got there so I was one of the first in so I could watch BP. That was the closest stadium for me at only 600 miles round trip.

To get Aaron Judge into the post I went to my first game in many many years this year to hopefully watch Judge play against the Twins and he did not play that day.:(

It was not that he hit more and he definitely did not hit them farther than others. It was how he hit them. It has been almost 20 years so I can't remember if it was left to right or right to left so my example might be backwards. After he would hit several line drives all over the field he would always end BP by hitting one to left, then left center, then center, then right center, and then right field on consecutive pitches.

If nothing else he has shown some mental resilience in apparently not let a devastating slump ruin him. Jay Buhner was a pretty good ballplayer, nothing wrong with ending up like him or a little better if that's what happens. It's odd, to me anyhow, that Judge has tons of walks but also tons of Ks. Maybe it's not that odd.

Eff him hard I say lol.

http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/ma...l-is-forgiven/

Thanks for the link Peter I had not seen that article. I like my players for what they did on the field and couldn't care less what they did off it.

I have always found BA and OBP impress me way more than HRs. Like the old saying goes "chicks love the long ball", well I am not a chick.:eek::D

To get this thread back on track Mr Judge has a very good chance with 44 HRs to get 5 more and tie for the all time rookie HR record. The Yanks have 12 more games and its not like they are playing tough teams in those 12 games.

That would be quite a comeback from that devastating slump. I agree with Ron Darling that he was opening his front side too early. When you do that, the bat lags behind and drags through the strike zone. Watching him hit numbers 42 and 43, it seems he's back on the beam. At least I hope so--great kid, a real credit to the game!

Regards,

Larry

Aaron Judge hit another HR today so he is down to needing 4 more to tie for the rookie HR record. I wish him the best of luck in doing it.:)

+1!!!!!!!!!

Says the guy with the awesome GU Judge bat.:)

I also hope he is able to achieve this. Would be great for baseball, and for those who spent big bucks on some of his cards. :D

Judge is on fire!!! 2 for 2 with HR #46 tonight.:D

so are the contingents taking turns depending on whether judge is hot or not? :) when he was cold the other side was counting down his ba to the mendoza line with daily updates...now that he's getting hot again it's all silence on that side and the pro-judge crowd is chirping!

just remember baseball seasons are long, there are bound to be ups and downs and small sample size. no point following the numbers with a microscope.

It is near the end of the season and he has a really good chance of tying or breaking the all time rookie home run record. I believe that is worth daily updates.:)

For me it is just fun to watch because I do not own a single Aaron Judge item.

Yes ups and downs are the norm but his ups and downs have been on the extreme side I think, thus the unusual interest. Particularly in a 25 year old rookie who had a relatively unspectacular minor league career.

2 more today!!! Judge only needs 1 more to tie the rookie HR record. With 7 more games he has a great chance to break the record.

Good to hear! Been crazy busy lately and haven't much of a chance to follow along with any sports.

With 7 games left, I say he breaks it, hopefully.

Not sure where people think I fall on this spectrum, but I think the power is obviously for real and that he will be an occasional all-star (maybe more than occasional since he's in NY) I don't think he's the next Yankee immortal.

Closing out with his best power month; love watching this kid play, love the work ethic— and also love how he handles himself with the media, with maturity and poise. His homers are such missiles, they make me smile like a kid again. Ripping boxes with my family looking for Judges this year has been priceless.

It's too bad there isn't enough room for the Yankees to catch Boston. If they overtook the East I think Judge had to have been the MVP.

and there it goes!!

and there goes #50...congrats Aaron!!!!

and there went #50!!!

Congrats to Aaron! What an amazing season.

Yea this has been a lot of fun to watch. I can't wait to see what he does in the playoffs.

Absolutely!!! A great achievement for a great kid! I can't see him winning the MVP, however, after essentially having gone awol for a month and a half.

Best regards,

Larry

Nope, but ROY and likely top 3 MVP is not bad for a guy I was thinking I was being overly optimistic by hoping he might turn into the next Jay Buhner or Richie Sexson about a 1/2 year ago.

So is this is a good time to grade his auto numbered cards?

If they are very high grade and you are selling it is.

...and so goes the only legit (IMO) home run record Mark McGwire ever held.

I think he finishes second behind Altuve in MVP. Very impressive how he turned it around after an epic slump, and indeed how he ascended after a long and unspectacular minor league career. A great story.

Give it about a year, and noone will remember any 'epic' slump. Its not a slump if you end up with 50 homers ...its just called a normal baseball season.

Im sure there are lots of .285 35 homer and 100+ rbi seaons of players were had horrible slumps in that year. Noone will remember that. 50 homers in not a full season...c'mon.

I would put him behind Altuve and Ramirez, two great seasons on the two teams fighting for the best record. I can't get over Judge's two month slump. The Yankees had a better record during that slump than the rest of the season. That doesn't say most valuable to me.

Altuve is having a great year but I'm not sure he's the most valuable player. The Astros are loaded and while he's having the best year among them, the team is stacked.

I feel the same way about Ramirez. Is he having that much better of a year than Lindor that he would be top 3 and Lindor wouldn't?

But on the Yankees it was all Judge for the entire first half of the season. I don't believe they would have clinched a wild card spot without Judge. They had a better winning percentage in the second half but scored 120 less runs while Judge slumped. That to me shows how important his performance is to the team.

This is not true. In 1995 Albert Belle hit 50 Hrs in 143 games .317/.401/.690 leading the league in runs, doubles, HRs, RBIs, slugging and total bases, but lost the MVP to Mo Vaughn who had much worse stats. WAR Belle 6.9 to Vaughn 4.3. OPS+ Belle 177 to Vaughn 144.

The problem was that Belle went on a tear the last two months of the season, hitting 31 of his 50 Hrs. At the end of July the Indians were in first place by 17 games. Vaughn had great clutch stats and tied Belle in RBIs. Belle was the better player and had the better season, but he did his damage when it didn't matter. Vaughn was more valuable. People will remember, especially if Judge does not win MVP.

That right there is why he isn't the MVP. He let his team down in the second half. Had he played well in the second half would the Yankees have to settle for a wild card playoff game (I know it isn't set in stone yet, but they are 4 games back still)?

Altuve was consistent for his team all year long.

Altuve 1st half: .347ba/.417obp/.551slg/.968ops
Alutve 2nd half: .349ba/.409obp/.559slg/.968ops

Judge 1st half: .329ba/.448obp/.691slg/1.139ops
Judge 2nd half: .221ba/.379obp/.527slg/.906ops

First half Judge was the MVP for the Yankees, but the second half he was a detriment to the team just coming back for the final month.

I feel like its a chicken or the egg situation. Had Judge not played so well in the first half the Yankees might not have had a second half to play for. But even in his slump it was only really a slump for him. I mean the average is unsightly but the OPS and slugging, during his worst moments of the season, nearly match Altuve's peak.

Ramirez has a WAR of 6.5 to 5.3 for Lindor. OPS+ 143 to 118. Ramirez is having a huge September .431/.467/1.000 at a time when Indians have gone 29-2 and went from hoping to make the playoffs to best record in the league. He is the true MVP despite not having the WAR of Altuve or OPS+ of Judge or Trout.

On the other hand Judge was small when the Yankees were cementing themselves in the first wild card. I disagree with you, I don't think the Yankees are 10 games worse without Judge. I think they are a wild card with or without him.

I think some of that disparity between Ramirez and Lindor comes down to Lindor's poor first half though. He's hitting 50 points higher in the second half and slugging over 100 points higher. He had a lot of ground to make up to get where he is.

I was not giving an opinion about MVP....i was saying that years from now when you look at stats you arent going to remember or think Judge had an 'epic' slump when you see his statistics. Basically its not an epic slump when you end up with those stats. An epic slump is like Fernando Rodney last year or Jack Armstrong years ago ....guys whos season total season was considered bad even though the first half was at an all star level.....the entire season for Judge was outstanding. It just cant be an epic slump if your season ends up elite

One has to love how the steady, calm, poised Aaron Judge let his play shift the public discussion. Earlier in the season, there were those trying to knock him, calling him Kevin Maas or Jeremy Lin. Now the debate has shifted to whether or not he is the MVP— as a rookie. It's worth hanging a lantern on what that sheer pivot says about the fine year this young man has put together.

Baseball is one heck of a hard game. Playing in the midst of the Category 5 media maelstrom that Judge has makes his carriage and performance all the more impressive to me.

I'm hard pressed to remember another instance when a veteran said it's an honor to play with a rookie; that says a great deal. “He went through it and just kept working,’’ Todd Frazier said on Monday. “That’s very hard to come back from, but that’s his mentality, his personality. It’s incredible, hitting 50, and for him to be as humble as he is, it’s an honor to play with him.”

You are manipulating what is said to try and fit it to your desire. What I was showing was the consistency of the player over the full season. That was Judge's full second half, not just his slump. Judge's slump in August do not "nearly match Altuve's peak" in July.

Altuve's peak month, July: .485ba/.523obp/.727slg/1.251ops/203sOPS
Judge's slump month, August: .185ba/.353obp/.326slg/.680ops/83sOPS

August was even Altuve's worst month and even just comparing those Judge doesn't "nearly match" Alutve:
August .304ba/.345obp/.520slg/.865ops/126sOPS

Now this isn't to say I don't think Judge is worthy of other accolades that he will receive for the season. It also doesn't mean that when Judge is on he is better than Altuve, he is. This just shows me that Judge is very streaky and to me wouldn't be the MVP.

I was talking about the numbers that you posted. The OPS, slugging, and OBP were near enough to each other that without looking at batting average it would be hard to tell one was struggling.

when you look back at the 2017 season, people will say that's the aaron judge year (sorry mik...giancarlo stanton). he did have a monster first half, the yankees weren't really poised to contend this year, he does lead everyone in WAR...he's the mvp.

conversely the astros were one of the world series favorites, altuve does play with a bunch other bad dudes who do professional baseball things very well...it's just easier when the opposing pitcher have to grind out every ab.

To whoever has been arguing Judge just had a typical season with ups and downs: not.

Nah...it becomes sample size. as long as you hit well enough for the 2nd half.. a month might as well be 3 days of slumping. Talk of any slump in 2017 for Judge is silly. Its like saying he went 0-4 yesterday so thats a slump... One good day of hitting negates many many bad days. If you fail 7 out of 10 times you are going to the HOF if career is long enough.

Also the fact that your best month of the 2nd half is the last month during the playoff race makes that month more important than any other 2nd half months. Yeah all the games count, but if you use that argument than all of his stats count too

The Astros and Yankees won the same number of games last season. The Astros were a slight favorite over the Rangers to win their division. The Yankees were a popular pick for the wild card. They are both meeting or slightly exceeding their expectations. This isn't some team picked for last place making a miracle run to the playoffs.

Altuve leads Judge in WAR 8.2 to 7.6. The Astros have been the better team after both won the same number of games. The real MVP should be the guy who has hit .415/.455/.915 the last 31 games leading his team to a 29-2 record.

1. Ramirez
2. Altuve
3. Judge

I don't know if that's exactly true. For example, SB Nation predicted the Yankees would finish 4th in the East, accurately predicted the Indians would win the Central, and had Houston finishing second in the West.

Only 1 staff member at ESPN out of 35 had the Yankees winning the East, but all 35 picked the Indians to win the Central and 21 out of 35 had the Astros winning the West.

It is not sample size when the two months after the end of the first half you hit .182/.346/.365. Judge has had a hot 2 weeks after a bad 2 months. Those 2 weeks are not important considering the Yankees already had the wild card wrapped up. It would be one thing if he led them to the division. However, his hot streak has come too late for it to matter.