Wagner’s New York Times article points out the historical nature of Aaron Judge’s incredible 2022 season. Many media outlets have touched on the fact Judge is chasing Roger Maris’ record of 61 home runs in a season, but I like that Wagner found a new angle and looked at Judge also chasing the batting title and triple crown.
In baseball, power hitters usually don’t have the best batting averages. Hitters that swing for the fence often strike out when they don’t hit home runs. Judge is a generational player that can not only hit for power, but for contact. To highlight this, Wagner included Judge’s monstrous stats in September, in which he recorded a base hit in nearly every other at bat.
Finally, Wagner nicely ties up the history of the triple crown in baseball (player leading the league in home runs, runs batted in, and batting average). He mentions the last triple crown winner, Miguel Cabrera. Judge had a nice connection to Cabrera, watching his 2012 highlights while playing in college. I appreciate Wagner’s ability to dig beyond the surface and find a unique connection between two players with significant places in the history of Major League Baseball.
Tantalo Takes 