Sweeny: The Verdict Is In: Judge's Power Is Something Else
By Sweeny Murti
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TAMPA, Fla. (WFAN) -- Word travels fast in 2017. Aaron Judge's home run last Friday went everywhere in a hurry, thanks to social media. And one of the interested -- and impressed -- parties was Tony Clark, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players' Association.
"Aaron is physically special," Clark said at Steinbrenner Field on Sunday after he finished briefing the Yankees players as part of the union's annual spring training tour.
Clark hit 251 big league home runs in his career, many of the tape-measure variety. That doesn't include the moonshot that blasted a hole in the Tokyo Dome scoreboard during a Yankees exhibition game there in 2004. Or the one he hammered into the Delaware River over the right field fence when he played for the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
And even he was impressed when the video of Judge's blast came across his phone.
"Those are the types of things that people tell stories like, 'I was there when that happened,'" Clark said. "That kind of power is remarkably exciting and it brings people to the ballpark."
Wait ... Are you telling us you still haven't seen Aaron Judge's monstrous home run from yesterday? WATCH: https://t.co/q52qhN6PMS pic.twitter.com/hKcDWzEoQR
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) February 25, 2017
That kind of power is also difficult to harness when you're as big as Judge, who is listed at 6-foot-7.
At 6-8, Clark knows a thing or two about taking that large frame -- with a larger than normal strike zone -- and figuring out how to make consistent, hard contact.
"When you have that many moving pieces and (pitchers) have a target that big to throw at, it presents challenges," Clark said.
"And repeating your swing can be a challenge. (Judge) will have some of those hurdles to work through, but it's going to be really exciting to see what he's going to be able to do with what he's got."
Clark had his biggest seasons with Detroit from 1996-99, averaging 31 home runs per year. He also averaged 133 strikeouts per year. The challenge that Judge faces now isn't eliminating strikeouts or even cutting them down, although that will be part of his growth process. Power hitters that size -- with that much area to cover with their swing -- are simply going to swing and miss a lot. Learning how to put a two- or three-strikeout game behind him quickly and being able to connect in that one difference-making at-bat each night, that's what will take Judge to the next level.
"We have to have very short memories here," Clark said, referring to all players, not just power hitters. "Take what it is we've experienced, adjust accordingly, and come back tomorrow with another chance to do some damage."
Judge is at a point now where simply striking out isn't what seems to bother him, but perhaps it's more about how he strikes out. Judge said last Friday he took a hittable pitch early in the count for a strike and ended up in a bad count, eventually chasing a pitch in the dirt for strike three.
During his next at-bat, he jumped on the first-pitch fastball in the zone and, well, I'm sure by now you've seen the highlight.
Aaron Judge nearly *cleared* the scoreboard in left-center field with his 5th-inning bomb... ????#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/s4GHNg5sBg
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) February 24, 2017
Soon, the Yankees hope, will come a moment when Judge puts it all together, with everyone understanding that he will still swing and miss a lot. But that he will also be doing a lot of damage too, and not just to scoreboards.
"There's a point in time in your career," Clark concluded, "where you know 'I belong. I've made adjustments along the way. They have a book on me. They're gonna get me sometimes and I'm gonna get them sometimes. But I know I'm a major leaguer.' It doesn't mean you're ever going to come to the ballpark and feel like you've got the game under control. But it will mean you deserve to be in that clubhouse."
Judge doesn't have to become Dave Winfield (6-6 and a Hall of Famer with 3,110 hits and 465 home runs) to become a success. Whoever Judge turns out to be is only beginning to take shape. And it's kind of fun to watch, if you can manage to actually see where the balls land.
Follow Sweeny on Twitter at @YankeesWFAN