"Unfortunate Aaron Judge has become Lamar Jackson of baseball" - Yankees analyst makes feelings known about fan hate against team captain
Aaron Judge delivered an outstanding regular season with the New York Yankees, although he failed to carry his hot run into the postseason. Judge received fierce backlash from the fans after losing the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two Yankees analysts from Pinstripe Territory compared him with NFL superstar Lamar Jackson for their repeated failures with their teams in the playoffs.
Jackson is the quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens and a two-time NFL MVP. He is considered one of the best players in his position for his dual-threat style and set the single-season rushing yards record in 2019, while also leading the league in touchdown passes. Yet, Jackson has not lived up to his expectations in the playoffs, as he has lost twice as many games as he has won in the postseason.
YouTuber and MLB analyst Frankie G. (also known as Frankie Baseball) sees similarities between Jackson and the achievements of Aaron Judge, and said so on "Pinstripe Territory":
"I have such conflicted thoughts on Judge right now," said Frankie Baseball. "We are going to watch him win the MVP this year. We are going to see him, hopefully, hit 40-50 home runs next year. And all me and most Yankees fans are going to think is, 'What did he do in October?'
"It is unfortunate that he has now become the Lamar Jackson, maybe, of baseball, which is unfortunate," he added. "Maybe we are being too harsh on him."
Aaron Judge is one of the few players who can produce elite power with his bat and hit for a high average at the same time. He is on course to win his second American League MVP and batted .322/.458/.701 during the regular season, with 58 home runs, 14 RBIs, and 223 OPS+.
Despite being the best slugger in the entire MLB, Aaron Judge went 7-49 during the Yankees' postseason run to the World Series, which contained just five extra-base hits in addition to 20 strikeouts.
Postseason could haunt Aaron Judge for a while
Aaron Judge not only had a disappointing postseason with the bat, but he also made a massive fielding error in Game 5 of the World Series, which ultimately allowed the Los Angeles Dodgers to launch a stunning comeback to clinch the Fall Classic. Pinstripe Territory's Derek Levandowski feels the wrath of the New York Yankees supporters is justified, and it will continue to haunt Judge for some time.
"It's going to take all of next season," Levandowski said. "Even if he has a 70-home run season, even if he opens the season on fire and hits 15 home runs in April like A-Rod, everybody is going to be saying, 'But he sucks in the playoffs.' And that's not entirely true.
"He just happened to slump at the wrong time," Levandowski added. "It's unfortunate because the conversation isn't going to go away. And I don't blame the people that are p****d off. I'm a little p****d off, still."
Aaron Judge is widely considered to be the best player of his generation to don a Yankees uniform. However, he has yet to win the World Series with the team, although they were able to end a 15-year drought for the AL pennant this year.