There’s a reason Aaron Judge’s 2022 season was so historic — it was one of the best offensive performances in recent memory.
This year, though there was little chance he would duplicate that success, Judge’s OPS has dipped by more than 100 points from this point a year ago heading into the Yankees’ game Friday night against the Rays.
Judge had six homers going into Friday, compared to 10 at the same point last year on his way to breaking Roger Maris’ American League home run record with 62 homers and grabbing the spotlight of the entire sport.
Although other people are stressing about his numbers, Judge said he is not.
“If I waste time comparing my stats to last year, I’d be spinning myself in circles,’’ Judge said Friday. “Each year is so different. Sometimes you have a hot start and cool off in the middle. Other years, you start slow and you deal with that. Your numbers are gonna be whatever they are at the end of year. You just make sure you prepare and put in the work. If you worry about it then, you start with the dips and slides.”
One part of his game that has caught the Yankees’ attention is Judge’s strikeout rate, which has spiked from 25.1 percent a year ago to 32 percent this season, according to Fangraphs.