MLBbro MVP Aaron Judge Is Compared To Another All-Time Great Hitting Legend

In the era of social media, all professional sports leagues depend on engagement to keep the fans interested and even though their teams are nowhere near the postseason.

 

Old rivalries to G.O.A.T. conversations to the simple “My team has more championships than yours” are all common debates.

 

Over the last three seasons, no MLB player has been feared for his power as much as Aaron Judge. The power he possesses leaves no doubt that he is at the top of the mountain in this era.

 

 

 

His comparisons to certain players have kept discussions spicy almost to the point of controversy. When Judge broke the AL season home run record, it was used to discredit Barry Bonds’ all time MLB record.

 

Being a New York Yankee great and breaking Roger Maris’ aforementioned record have drawn comparisons to not only Maris, but Babe Ruth in the pantheon of all-time home run hitters.

 

Recently, there was a debate about who was the best player in baseball…Judge or Shohei Ohtani. Now Aaron Judge’s AL MVP chances this year are being linked to Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals.

One Tweet: Tony Gwynn vs. Aaron Judge

 

But it took one tweet earlier this month to start the latest social media craze…

 

 

This tweet went viral, and Marty Mush got ratioed for his opinion with a name from MLB past…Tony Gwynn.

 

Where do Aaron Judge comparisons begin and end with Tony Gwynn? Believe it or not, it’s an easier conversation than fans realize. Aaron Judge has improved his strikeout rate over the years, but Tony Gwynn is the G.O.A.T.!

 

Sure G.O.A.T conversations are cliche at this point, but not this one. Aaron Judge’s preparation and technique work is top notch.

 

But throughout his career, strikeouts have been an issue at times. Tony Gwynn almost NEVER struck out and when he did, it was breaking news. Over the last three full seasons Judge struck out 158 times in 2021, 175 times in 2022, 130 times last season and 128 times this season.

Tony Gwynn struck out 167 times in the 1990’s.

Tony Gwynn struck out 434 times in a 20-year career, Aaron Judge is approaching 1200 Ks in half the time.

These two MLBbro greats are different types of hitters in two different eras.

 

In the era of analytics and sports science, there is another reason beyond the obvious that Aaron Judge is a much better power hitter. The opportunities of the pitchers’ fastballs. In Gwynn’s era outside of maybe Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Dwight Gooden or Roger Clemens for example, how many pitchers were throwing 100+ mph pitches continuously? Now those types of pitches are a requirement to be a pitcher in the majors.

 

Bottom line, the tweet started a conversation that has no merit. Judge will be in the Hall of Fame with Gwynn when he quits. But if this conversation comes up again about Aaron Judge being an overall better hitter than Tony Gwynn, I might lose my mind.

 

 

Mention Tony Gwynn’s 1995 campaign and end it.