New York Yankees' Aaron Judge Riding Historic Postseason Slump as Strikeouts Pile Up

Aaron Judge tanked his batting average and added to his strikeout rate in the New York Yankees' loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday night.

Oct 26, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) reacts after striking out in the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game two of the 2024 MLB World Series at Dodger Stadium. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Aaron Judge has opened the World Series with a whimper, leaving the New York Yankees hanging as a result of his historic slump.

Judge went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Game 2 on Saturday, one day after he went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts. The soon-to-be two-time MVP is now batting .111 with a .222 OPS thus far against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have gone up 2-0 amidst Judge's struggles.

On the whole this postseason, Judge is batting .150 with a .605 OPS. As a result, his career average in the postseason has dipped down to .199.

As noted by Jay Cuda, there are 70 players in MLB history with at least 200 postseason at-bats in their careers. Judge is one of two who owns a batting average below .200.

The other is Reggie Sanders, who hit .195 in the playoffs as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals. Sanders did hit .304 in the 2001 World Series, winning a ring at the Yankees' expense.

of the 70 players in baseball history w/ 200+ postseason at bats, two are hitting below .200

aaron judge
reggie sanders

— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) October 27, 2024

The way in which Judge has failed to get on base has been particularly concerning as well.

In his postseason career, Judge is up to 85 strikeouts.

Judge has 19 strikeouts in 50 plate appearances this October alone. Compare that to Yankees legend Yogi Berra, who struck out 17 times in 295 career plate appearances in the playoffs.

According to StatMuse Baseball, no player in MLB history with at least 225 postseason plate appearances has a higher career strikeout rate than Judge's astronomical mark of 34.3%.

No player has a higher career strikeout rate in the postseason than Aaron Judge (min 225 PA). pic.twitter.com/0hWeuujZiJ

— StatMuse Baseball (@statmusemlb) October 27, 2024

Judge has contributed -0.227 Win Probability Added and -6.76% Championship Win Probability Added in 2024, actively hurting the Yankees' chances of snapping their 15-year title drought.

Judge will have a chance to break out of his slump back at home in Game 3, which is set to start at 8:08 p.m. ET on Monday.

Full playoff schedule in real time

• MLB POSTSEASON SCHEDULE: The 2024 playoffs are finally coming to a head, with the AL and NL pennant-winners now going head-to-head in the World Series. Here is the latest on the schedule, with dates, game times, TV information and pitching matchups. CLICK HERE

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