Welcome to Snyder’s Soapbox! Here, I pontificate about matters related to Major League Baseball on a weekly basis. Some of the topics will be pressing matters, some might seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and most will be somewhere in between. The good thing about this website is that it’s free, and you are allowed to click away. If you stay, you’ll get smarter, though. That’s a money-back guarantee. Let’s get to it.
Earlier this month, Yankees superstar Aaron Judge was walked seven times in a three-game span, including five intentional walks. In the bottom of the eighth on Aug. 7, the Angels had a three-run lead with two outs and nobody on base. They intentionally walked Judge.
That’s ridiculous and I’ll get to that in a second, but first, let’s deal with the out-of-control spiral this very small sample sent some people down. Yankees play-by-play man Michael Kay was in that group and he apparently wants to fundamentally change how baseball is played due to a few intentional walks. It seems a bit extreme to me.
Some tidbits, via Awful Announcing:
“Think about this: you go to an NBA game, Steph Curry and the Warriors are playing the Knicks, and Tom Thibodeau goes, ‘OK, Curry can’t get the ball.’ It’s not about playing defense. It’s not like they pitch to Curry, like if you pitched outside to Judge and maybe he chased — he cannot get the ball. And the rules would allow him not to get the ball. Incomprensible, right?
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“Imagine going to a football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, and the other coach goes, ‘You know what? Patrick Mahomes can’t touch the ball in the fourth quarter. It’s not allowed.’ And that was actually a part of the game; you’d be red-hot. And I’ve always said that one of the things that baseball has to consider is that in the ninth inning of a close game, it could be the bottom of the order. In the biggest moment of the game in the NBA, LeBron’s having the ball in his hands; Jalen Brunson’s having the ball in his hands; Curry’s having the ball in his hands. In the biggest moment of the baseball game, you might not see Juan Soto and Aaron Judge.”
“I’ve always said, ‘Let’s really get funky here.’ In the ninth inning, you get to recalibrate and send up the three batters you want. ‘All right, I want to send up (Anthony) Volpe, Soto and Judge.’ Then, you have a chance. Then, you’re gonna see your best players…in the biggest moments with the game on the line. Baseball should consider something like that.”
I actually think having a set lineup is one of baseball’s most endearing quirks. We’ve seen so many unlikely heroes over the years due to the structure. Plus, it can penalize top-heavy teams that lack depth. I also don’t think we’re doing proper service to the game if we’re trying to judge it through lens of “how do the NFL and NBA operate?” because baseball is just such a different sport. The defense is the one, technically, with “possession” of the ball in our sport. Even so, these are all minor disagreements.
The discussion on the walks, though, is spreading more and more and I have to say, it’s not that ridiculous. At least not yet. Judge’s pace in walks and intentional walks is rising, but he’s still only tied for the MLB lead with 13 IBB (Yordan Alvarez also has 13) while Bryce Harper, Corey Seager and Rafael Devers are right behind them.
Judge does lead the majors in walks, but it’s 99 walks in 120 Yankees games, putting him on pace to walk 134 times this season.
Is that really worth all this hoopla? Ted Williams walked at least 145 times five times in his career. He was intentionally walked at least 25 times in four different seasons. Barry Bonds walked at least 145 times six times in his career. He was issued at least 30 intentional walks 10 times. In 2004, Bonds was walked 232 times, including an absolutely outrageous 120 intentional walks. During the 1998 home run chase, Mark McGwire walked 162 times and 28 of those were intentional.
If Judge walks 134 times this year, again, as he’s on pace to do, he still wouldn’t crack the top 50 walk seasons in history. Joey Votto walked 134 times in 2017 and that sits 51st all-time.
We’re discussing changing the way baseball is played over this? The 51st-most prolific walk season ever?
It’s a total overreaction, spurred by Judge playing for the Yankees.
That said: Stop it, non-contending opponents.
If there’s a team desperate to stack wins while chasing a playoff spot, it’s pretty understandable to make someone other than Judge (and Juan Soto, who bats before Judge) beat you from this Yankees lineup. As my colleague Mike Axisa pointed out, it’s working, too.
The onus here lies on the Yankees to make other teams pitch to Judge by having traffic on the basepaths when he gets to the plate or putting hitters behind him too dangerous to take the chance of giving a free baserunner. Maybe Aaron Boone should start batting Judge leadoff with Soto sitting there in the two-hole? If it becomes a trend that Judge is getting multiple intentional walks a game, they should probably do that.
I also think it’s pretty pitiful that teams like the Blue Jays or Angels — who are definitely not going to make the playoffs — are having their pitchers duck Judge, though.
How about letting your pitchers have a chance to prove themselves against the best slugger in the league? Every batter faced provides the opportunity for a learning experience.
When it comes to facing Judge, it’s not an impossible task to retire him. Despite leading the majors in on-base percentage, he still makes outs more than half the time. If you take away the walks, his batting average drops to .329. Pitchers often have the upper hand against him. For non-contending teams, the remaining season is all about evaluating players. It’s crucial for young pitchers on struggling teams to have the opportunity to face strong hitters like Judge for their development. On the other hand, for contending teams, the main focus is on winning. One strategy to beat the Yankees is to prevent players like Soto and Judge from dominating. If intentional walks are needed to achieve this, then so be it. This approach has been a part of baseball for over a century, and there’s no need to change the rules just because of a player like Judge’s high walk rate.