Aaron Judge's Hitting Coach Ripped Yankees’ Player Development Amid Team Slump

Kristen Wong | Jul 4, 2024

Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Yankees probably didn’t appreciate what Richard Schenck, Aaron Judge’s personal hitting coach, had to say during their game against the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

Entering Thursday’s matchup, the Yankees were at risk of getting swept in a three-game series for the first time this season. One of the sole bright spots of the offense is Judge, who has been crushing MLB pitching in historic fashion all year.  

During the game, YES Network posted a screenshot of Judge at the plate along with a quote about Judge from Yankees announcer Michael Kay, who said, “He hits. They win. That said.” 

Schenck replied with the following tweet:

“They’ve lost 13 out of 18 while he’s hitting like an MVP. The Yankees offensive player development is terrible.”

They’ve lost 13 out of 18 while he’s hitting like an MVP

The Yankees offensive player development is terrible.

— Richard Schenck, JFD PPP LQC TTE 🙂 (@Teacherman1986) July 4, 2024

Judge, the AL single-season home run record holder and a six-time All-Star, has indeed been playing at an MVP-caliber level this year, slashing a .318/.438/.711 with a league-best 1.149 OPS.

Judge’s historically dominant campaign has not, however, coincided with Yankees’ success, as the team has dropped 13 of their past 18 games and witnessed dreadful slumps from Alex Verdugo, Anthony Volpe, DJ LeMahieu and other members of the offense.

The Yankees lost 8–4 to the Reds to drop to 54–35 and now currently sit 2.5 games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.