But Judge can bat leadoff because he has the primary skill of the best No. 1 hitters: He gets on base a whole lot. Judge drew 127 walks, easily leading the American League and breaking Ted Williams’ 78-year-old record for a rookie, and only Mike Trout had a higher on-base percentage than Judge’s .422.

Judge also led the AL in strikeouts, with 208, and between his combination of walks and strikeouts, he averaged 4.41 pitches per plate appearance, the most in the AL. Managers often prefer to have hitters who see a lot of pitches near the top of the batting order, so that the batters who follow can watch the opposing pitcher work and learn — about what the pitcher is throwing, what he is commanding, how he is attacking hitters.

Source: Buster Olney, ESPN.com

One comment on “Why Aaron Judge should hit leadoff for the Yankees

  • Steevy

    On a Strat-O-Matic team I made I batted Babe Ruth leadoff…:)

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