Andrew’s One Good and One Bad

Andrew’s One Good and One Bad

By Andrew Hefner

October 6, 2024

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EDITOR'S NOTE - We welcome Andrew Hefner, a young man with great love of the Yankees and tremendous knowledge, as well as excellent writing abilities, to the SSTN staff.

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That’s a wrap on Game One of the Yankees 2024 postseason campaign, and it had all of the markings of a quality, nail-biting, and back-and-forth game. With the win, a lot went right for the Yankees, but of course, in the Bronx, there is always more to be desired. 

The Good

There was no shortage of positives in a game where the lead switched a record five times. Many players had major redemptions as well, including Alex Verdugo who ultimately drove in the game-winning RBI. None of these players, however, will get the “Good” that came from this game. 

The Yankees famously have not been the most “disciplined” team over the last couple of seasons, often swinging at pitches way out of the zone. Last night, this notion seems to have disappeared. Although they struckout 11 times, they also totaled 9 walks, which ended up helping in a major way.

In my opinion, one of the main goals for the Yankees this postseason is to once again work on the manufacturing of runs, as against tough opponents, a couple of solo homers is not going to cut it. Torres and Soto will be the biggest benefactors to this cause, as hitting right in front of Judge gives them the biggest chance to touch home once they get on base. Soto, an already proven master at the plate, has shown the ability to take pitches with incredible precision. If he can continue working counts, and getting on base in front of Judge, runs will be scored. The same can be said for Torres. Although he is not necessarily known for being a disciplined hitter, like Soto, Torres showed a lot of growth last night, walking twice while also showing off his power, smashing a two-run homer to give the Yanks the lead early. 

If both of these players, as well as the rest of the lineup, can continue to work counts and get on base through walks, the Yankees will have a lot easier time creating scoring chances this October.

The Good was that the Yankees were patient at the plate and drew a ton of walks. These walks were the margin of victory in the one run game.

The Bad (maybe?)

It feels weird putting Aaron Judge under a title that has the word “bad” in it, but based on prior performances, as well as last night’s, it’s worth looking at Aaron Judge’s postseason performance. 

As Aaron Judge stepped up to the plate Saturday night, fans were reminded by Bob Costas of the amazing season the Yankees slugger had this year. Dubbed by some as “one of the best offensive seasons”, Judge led the league in two of the three triple-crown categories and batted an impressive .323. Costas would go on, though, to remind viewers of Judge’s postseason stats, which, granted, are not terrible, but certainly not comparable to his regular season numbers. 

With the impressive night and support from the three hitters in front of him (Verdugo, Torres, Soto), Judge was due to at least drive in a few runs last night, as he was thrown multiple times into situations with more than one runner on base. Unfortunately, Judge would go 0-4 with one walk and 3 strikeouts, only further adding fuel to the question of his postseason capabilities. 

The good in all of this, is that the Yankees can survive without Judge taking on all of the weight and that the Yankees were so often able to put Judge in positions to gain RBIs. It’s also worth noting that I’m not saying the alarm needs to be pulled that Judge will never be good in the playoffs, but looking at his numbers, a fan has every right to be scared, especially following last night's performance. I do not doubt that Judge will be back in prime form in the coming days, but in terms of Game 1, he disappointed.