“Keep It Low and Away” How to Deal with Aaron Judge? 3X CY Young Winner Gives Potent Advice to the Pitchers

Back in April, everyone wondered – How do you start the Aaron Judge train? But then, by the end of May, fans began wondering, how do you stop Aaron Judge? The New York Yankees captain hasn’t just been good but has been historically great in the last month. From a sky-high OPS to an unending supply of home runs, he has single-handedly terrorized every opponent. And that has forced the legendary Pedro Martinez to give his two cents on what he feels could be the best strategy against Judge. 

Martinez, a 3x Cy Young winner, was one of the most feared pitchers of his time. More importantly, he was a player with unreal control of the ball. As a result, he made difficult things look easy and that is evident in his advice. During an appearance on MLB Closer, Pedro Martinez advised pitchers on how to deal with Aaron Judge. However, the legend himself didn’t have high confidence in it working due to the quality currently standing on the mound.

“You have to play it safe with him and you have to keep it low and away,” Martinez said about Judge, adding, “And then take it to extreme up in the strike zone and then hopefully he will allow you to get right back to the low and away fastball, cutter, slider.” However, Martinez reminded people that this isn’t an easy task. It takes a lot of technique to do it safely and Aaron Judge might not fall for the trick.

“This is not an easy task regardless because we’re also underestimating his IQ. His understanding of the game. So that’s why I’m so respectful when I talk about hitters,” Martinez said. “Yes, I would go there and shoot right up but I knew how to do it, which is something I don’t trust anybody to do nowadays.”

That’s certainly one way to tackle the Aaron Judge juggernaut. However, as of now, nothing is working. The New York Yankees superstar hasn’t slowed down in June, as was evident in his game against the Minnesota Twins.

Aaron Judge continues to dominate and the Yankees continue to win 

After hitting at .207 with a .754 OPS in his first 31 games, Aaron Judge has completely flipped the script. Through May 31, the New York Yankees captain hit at .361 with 27 RBIS, 14 homers, and 12 doubles! The last two figures broke Lou Gehrig’s 90+ year record (he hit 12 homers and 12 doubles in 1930). 

However, instead of slowing down, Judge has been relentless. In the last game against the Twins, All Rise hit a two-run double. That gave him 28 extra-base hits in his last 28 games! More importantly, he has reached base for 30 consecutive games (as has Anthony Volpe). However, the most important part is that he isn’t slowing down. Now can the pitchers use Martinez’s way to stop Judge? Perhaps they could; they don’t really have any other choice.