MLB Network took the crew out to Spring Training in Tampa Bay, Florida to take a look at how the New York Yankees are preparing for another season with “World Series Or Bust” dreams. It’s been 13 years since the Yankees won a pennant. It’s the third longest drought in franchise history.
Noone knows this better than Aaron Judge, who led the Yankees to a formidable 99 wins and an AL East crown last season before falling to their Achilles heel, Houston Astros in the ALCS. Judge compiled one of the greatest statistical seasons in MLB history. The 2022 AL MVP batted .311 with 62 homers, 131 RBI, a .425 OBP, .686 slugging and 2011 OPS+ in 157 games played. Judge’s OPS + was the highest for a right-handed batter since 1946 (post WW II).
Lauren Shehadi and Carlos Peña interviewed the newly minted Yankees captain who is $360M richer after cashing in this offseason. They covered several topics.
Facets Of His Game That Needs Improving?
“Last year I really tried to focus on base running and getting into scoring position a lot, especially hitting at the top of the lineup,” Judge said. “This year just contact rate, an improved two strike approach in situational hitting. That’s what wins ballgames down the stretch. When you’ve got ducks on a pond you’ve got to drive those guys in.”
Why Is Being An Elite Defender So important?
“I just want to be a complete player,” said Judge. “I know everybody is busting their butts on the field and grinding especially with this pitch clock now we’re going to be working overtime trying to get through innings. I just want to make sure that if a ball is hit my way, I can do everything in my power to make the play for them…Even growing up as a kid it was always about being a complete player.”
Judge also reiterated how much of a blessing it is to be able to wear the legendary pinstripes and perform in front of Yankees fans every night.
MLB Network studio analyst Alex Aliva and Brutha Broadcaster Cameron Maybin offered their two cents on what they predict for the Paul Bunyan of baseball in 2023.
“It’s not unreasonable” that Judge hits 65 homers.” Maybin said. Though he cautioned that Judge’s 2022 is a hard act to follow.
“How can you do better? He says he wants to get on base more if he gets on base anymore, he’s going to score 150 runs. it’s hard for him to duplicate or be better than that.”
More realistically, Maybin said he envisions Judge hitting in the 50-homer range.
“I think he’s that kind of hitter.” Maybin insisted. “He talks about situational hitting and putting the ball in play. These are the things that win you championships. So when you hear Aaron Judge talk about that, he’s creating the mindset for the whole entire team not just himself”
The Yankees have been victims of the swing-and-miss, failing to push runs across at crucial moments late in games through means other than the homerun, so Judge’s comments on situational hitting shows he’s locked in on what the Yankees need to do to get over the hump.
Compares Aaron Judge To Miggy Cabrera
Avila was also very complimentary towards Judge and compared him to Miguel Cabrera at a similar stage in Miggy’s career.
“When you get to the caliber of player that Aaron’s at right now. It reminds me of playing with Miggy when he was in his prime and posting MVP seasons each year. You expect those types of years. For Aaron it’s more about figuring out the little things to win a game – the things that help you win”
Judge does average 49 homers over 162 games, so that projection is not farfetched.
Yankees Soul Patrol Has Life
The Yankees projected starting lineup features three MLBbros in Judge, who will remain the everyday right fielder with Harrison Bader assuming center field duties. MLBbro Giancarlo Stanton and his guaranteed 30 bombs will DH and can pinch in with outfield duty if needed. Aaron Hicks seems to have survived the storm and is slated to return to the starting lineup in leftfield.
Some new faces in new places, but the fate of the Yankees rides on the all-around dominance of Judge.
In August of 2007 when Cameron Maybin made his Major League debut with the Detroit Tigers, he was the youngest player in Baseball.
Over his 15-year career he had 973 hits, but his first came off of none other than seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens. In just his second game with the big team, Cameron singled for his first career hit. singled for his first career hit.
His next time at bat? Homer. The 20 year-old rookie singled and homered off of the 45 year-old veteran. So, naturally his third time at bat… hit by pitch!
No one is saying Roger hit Maybin on purpose or anything, but that did happen to be Clemens’s first game back from a five-game suspension for hitting the Blue Jays’ Alex Rios in the back in what the Associated Press called “a testy series.”
Fifteen years later, Cameron made his broadcasting debut with the Yankees’ YES Network as a color commentator and with the MLB Network as an on-air contributor. It’s the MLB Network that has Cameron at this year’s World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros. As an on-air contributor, Maybin opines on several different shows on the network and it’s throle that is allowing him to move around covering different aspects of the series.
Different aspects means doing things like predicting the Game One winner, or breaking down the Phillies’ Game Three, five-home run performance alongside Hall of Fame pitcher, Pedro Martinez.
Cameron incorrectly predicted an Astros win in Game One and correctly pointed out that four of the Phillies five homers in Game Three were hit off of breaking balls, by the way.
Covering the Astros in the World Series puts Maybin in an awkward position. As a player, he won his only World Series in 2017 as a member of the Astros. That, of course, is the year that Houston was caught in a major cheating scandal that rocked the sport.
Picked up from the waiver wire, Maybin joined the Astros in August of that year where he played the rest of the season as well as six postseason games. There are a lot of haters circling that Astros championship like vultures, but Cam lets that roll right off.
In February 2020, Maybin told The Detroit News, “Honestly, I feel like things that went on in the 2017 season with the Astros – which I was there for a month and some change – definitely doesn’t reflect how I approach the game and how I play the game.
“Hindsight is 20-20. It’s tough. Being in that locker room, knowing what was going on, we all could have said something about it.”
Analyzing the World Series games from behind the microphone, Cameron Maybin is definitely saying something now.
Mason Williams is making the move back to the big leagues.
Williams was called up to the New York Mets on Sunday, after making a big impression during his time with Triple-A Syracuse.
When he was promoted, the 29-year-old batted .383 with a .474 on-base percentage while slugging .574. He finished his stint with Syracuse with an exclamation point, crushing a grand slam as part of a 3-for-3 night that extended his hitting streak to seven games.
Mets Triple-A prospect Mason Williams continues to impress with a grand slam to right to give Syracuse an 8-1 lead.
The Mets have to be hoping that Williams can do something to help jump-start the team’s anemic offense. He will likely step in for Cameron Maybin. Maybin is 1-for-28 since debuting with New York on May 19.
Williams has spent parts of six seasons in the majors, coming up with the New York Yankees in 2015, where he homered in his first game.
He was a highly-touted prospect in New York’s farm system, but he struggled with his confidence and with injury.
He tore up his shoulder just a week into his rookie campaign while sliding back on a pickoff attempt. Surgery followed and he’s never quite been able to get back to where he was.
Since then he’s played in only 97 games for New York, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Baltimore Orioles.
Williams got his longest look with Cincinnati, appearing in 51 games during the 2018 season. He carried a solid .293 average over 123 at-bats, with eight of his 36 hits going for extra bases.
He homered in his first start for the Reds as well.
In his 235 career at-bats, Williams has shown the ability to make solid contact, though he’s struck out far too often.
His tremendous athleticism and defensive ability have kept him close to the big leagues, and the Mets were happy to take a chance on him.
Luis Rojas on recent minor league signing Mason Williams, who's batting .333/.415/.472 at AAA:
"I asked about him because I've known Mason for a few years now." But Williams isn't on the Mets' 40-man, which is an issue.
Rojas added: "I've always been a big fan of that kid."
Mason Williams will likely be given a real opportunity to earn a regular job in the injury-ravaged and underachieving Mets outfield. There won’t be many opportunities like this one for a player with all of the requisite tools and talent.
Perhaps Williams can become an unlikely hero that keeps the Mets afloat and in first place in the NL East until the team finds some semblance of health.
Major League Baseball announced today that the 2021 All-Star Game will not be played in Atlanta, Georgia. The decision to change the location comes one week after new legislation was passed in Georgia placing heavy restrictions on voters (Election Integrity Act 2021). The annual Midsummer Classic was originally scheduled to be played in Atlanta’s Truist Park, July 13.
In a statement, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said, “Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with Clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views. I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft.”
Manfred also stated MLB “fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box.”
After Manfred reached out and spoke to three influential figures within MLB’s Players Alliance — MLB pitcher Edwin Jackson, Dee Strange Gordon and Cameron Maybin (the Black players who got the ball rolling) — he was convinced to join them in their fight to have the game moved out of Georgia.
The Players Alliance, whose mission includes creating an inclusive culture within baseball and providing opportunities for the Black community, were elated with the relocation decision and issued in part this statement:
“We want to make our voice heard loud and clear in our opposition of the recent Georgia legislation that not only disproportionately disenfranchises the Black community, but also paves the way for other states to pass similarly harmful laws based largely on widespread falsehoods and disinformation.”
White superstars such as Clayton Kershaw, Evan Longoria and Cody Bellinger are also a part of this special group of groundbreaking MLB players.
I want to applaud and extend a thank you to @MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred for moving the All Star Game out of Georgia following the Governor’s signing of the new restrictive voting law. Way to be a leader and take a strong stance!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) April 2, 2021
“A lot of our ballplayers are from Atlanta, not just the Black players,” said Players Alliance President Curtis Granderson on MLB Network. “We’re looking to do a lot more, especially in the State of Georgia.”
“We’ve grown into 150 plus players and we’ve been able to a lot of things virtually, going to 33 different cities, handing out COVID supplies and other equipment wherever needed, and we are just getting started, We are less than a year old.”
New voting bills, signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on March 26, have restrictions that disproportionately affect communities of color. The new legislation requires Georgia residents to have a photo ID for absentee voters by mail, reduces the amount of time voters will have to request an absentee ballot and reduces the number of places where dropboxes can be placed. It goes so far as to prohibit anyone from giving out food or water to voters who are waiting in line.
Moving the All-Star Game had been debated in the last week in the wake of the new Georgia voting law. On Wednesday, President Biden responded to questions about moving the game from Atlanta, saying he would “strongly support” pulling the game out of Atlanta because of a law he described as “Jim Crow on steroids.”
Following the passing of the voting law, MLB Players Association director Tony Clark told the Boston Globe that the union body was “very much aware” of the significance of the game being in Georgia and said that moving it would be considered.
The Braves are obviously ticked off with all of the potential revenue getting picked off in the ninth inning.
The new host city for the All-Star Game has not yet been determined. Manfred said MLB would continue with plans to celebrate the memory of Hank Aaron, who died this past January, during the All-Star Game events.
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