Historic Starts For Judge, Stanton Reminiscent of 2017
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CHICAGO — Acquiring Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins in December of 2017, the Yankees issued a warning to pitching staffs across Major League Baseball.
New York was adding the National League Most Valuable Player, a behemoth coming off a 59-homer season, to a lineup with another larger-than-life ballplayer that tests the limits of Statcast with a bat in his hands.
Mixing Stanton with reigning Rookie of the Year Aaron Judge, who also racked up a historic home run total in 2017, created a dynamic duo poised to shatter records in pinstripes, rivaling the M&M Boys and members of the Murderers' Row.
Judge and Stanton showed flashes over their next four seasons as teammates—campaigns riddled with injuries and premature postseason exits—but they've never roared out of the gates to start a season quite like they have this spring.
In fact, through the first 32 games of the 2022 season—leading the Yankees to the best record in baseball—both sluggers are producing at an eerily similar rate to their numbers at this point in 2017.
Judge, who finished second in the race for the AL MVP Award during his first full season with New York, is presently on pace for 61 homers in 2022.
| BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | HR | RBI | R | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Judge in 2017 | .315 (35-for-111) | .411 | .739 | 1.150 | 13 | 28 | 28 |
Aaron Judge in 2022 | .305 (36-for-118) | .376 | .661 | 1.037 | 12 | 27 | 27 |
In Judge's case, each of those two samples include exactly 31 games played.
Stanton, on the other hand, had played in slightly more games with Miami at this point in '17. Nonetheless, his numbers so far this year are also practically identical to that magical campaign.
| BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | HR | RBI | R | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Giancarlo Stanton in 2017 | .259 (35-for-135) | .336 | .541 | .876 | 11 | 26 | 21 |
Giancarlo Stanton in 2022 | .284 (33-for-116) | .323 | .552 | .875 | 10 | 30 | 14 |
Both Judge and Stanton began their first season together on a similar pace, but had played in more games entering May 14, since Opening Day came in late March. Stanton finished with 38 homers that year while Judge missed time that summer with a right wrist fracture.
This season, the catalyst for these unreal stats on offense has been these last two weeks. Judge and Stanton are both locked in across the board and their numbers over their last 15 games prove it.
What are other Yankees saying about these two monsters in their clubhouse?
"You look at Big G and you look at Judge, I mean, they're pretty large humans," third baseman Josh Donaldson said on Friday. "They hit the ball extremely hard. They've got pop. You could throw a softball in there and they could probably still hit it out. I mean, there's not many parks that can contain them."
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole added that it's "brutal" as a pitcher to try and navigate a lineup with both Judge and Stanton when they're at their best, calling each of them "unicorns."
"I do feel like both of them are in a really good place right now," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. "G is really starting to lock it in here these last few days, obviously ... [and] Judge keeps getting better and better."
Obviously a comparison like this is an inexact science. So much has changed in Major League Baseball since 2017 and these two sluggers weren't on the same team back then either (Stanton was suiting up for a club that went on to win just 77 games).
Plus, Judge and Stanton both went on to play the most games in a single season in their careers to this point in 2017. Stanton appeared in 159 contests and Judge took the field in 155. Looking at their injury histories, and Boone's tendencies to rest his players to keep them healthy, those figures feel unlikely for this season.
Not to mention the fact that even if we're steamrolling through May, it's still a relatively small sample size. Fans of opposing teams reading this are undoubtedly wringing their hands, thinking "talk to me in September."
It's hard to ignore these numbers, though. And even as some pundits weigh in with their questionable criticism, if you're watching this team every day, especially recently, it's not hard to grasp just how impactful and dialed in these ballplayers are at the moment.
To put it another way, Judge and Stanton both lead the league in average exit velocity and barrels. They're among the league leaders in Hard Hit % and expected figures like xSLG and xwOBA.
Judge leads the league with his 12 homers entering play on Saturday. Stanton is second in baseball with 30 RBI.
If history resonates with you more than advanced numbers, get this. Judge and Stanton join Babe Ruth (14) and Lou Gehrig (10) from 1930 and Mickey Mantle (16) and Yogi Berra (12) from 1956 as the only pair of Yankees teammates in franchise history to mash 10-plus homers in 32 games, as pointed out on Friday by MLB.com.
Perhaps this recent red-hot stretch is unsustainable. These two sluggers are as streaky as they come. But if Judge and Stanton can maintain this type of production going forward, and stay on the field, they're poised to swing their way to the record books once again later this fall, reminding us all of their memorable performances from five years ago.
"It was special," Judge said, reminiscing back to 2017 and what Stanton accomplished. "I think about the second half of '17 for him and how I'd turn on MLB Network and every other day, I feel like he was getting another homer. Two-run homer, three-run homer, 2-for-3, two walks and you just couldn't throw him anything. Curveball, fastball, changeup, pitch off the plate, pitch up and in, it really didn't matter.
"That's kind of how I feel like right now. It doesn't matter where the pitch is, if it's over the plate, he's going to put a good swing on it."
MORE:
- Yankees' Gerrit Cole Hitting His Stride After Cold Start to Season
- Yankees' Ben Rortvedt Sustains New Injury During Rehab Assignment
- Brett Gardner Turned Down This Contract Offer From the Blue Jays
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