On one Aaron Judge strikeout on Tuesday night, the breaking ball appeared to break just below the zone, but the Yankee slugger was rung up anyway.
It was the 53rd called strike on Judge that was actually outside of the zone, good for the most in baseball this season, and his 433 outside of the zone since his historic rookie season in 2017 are also the most in the majors over that span, according to the YES Network.
Simply put, the perennial MVP candidate is the victim of more missed calls than any other hitter in baseball, yet Judge still leads the league in home runs.
Being 6-foot-7 in the box may bring up new challenges for umpires, who rarely see a player of Judge’s stature at the plate, but the numbers suggest that there haven’t been much of an adjustment from the umpires. Being as tall as he is, Judge deals with several strike calls that are actually below the zone.
Safe to say, when an automated strike zone is inevitably brought into the major league level, Judge will likely be even more dangerous than he currently is at the plate.
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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